


One More Night

by cozycoincidences



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alex hates himself, Alex is sober, Alex relents, Bi! Alex, Bi! Justin, Conflicted Alex, Drunkenness, Fighting, Fluff, High School AU, Justin is drunk, Lots of Angst, M/M, Sexual Tension, There's some jealously, chapters, mild homophobia, my tags suck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-15
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-10-22 21:10:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 26,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10705191
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cozycoincidences/pseuds/cozycoincidences
Summary: It all started with one night at Bryce's pool house where a drunk Justin Foley and a sober Alex Standall hooked up even though Justin was dating Jessica at the time.Now, they both need to endure the consequences of their actions and explore any feelings they truly have for each other under normal, sober conditions





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, so this is my first work I've ever posted on this site so bear with me please lol, but I love this pairing and both characters have stolen my heart so I hope you guys enjoy this and let me know in the comments if you want a second chapter and what you would want me to write about, or just your opinions on this work! Thanks

Alex sat alone on one of Bryce's couches, thinking about what ideas ever came into his head to convince him to come to this party. 

The bass thumped throughout the whole house and sweaty bodies danced together, drunkenly singing the lyrics to trashy rap songs. 

Today had been a shitty day for Alex. It was a Friday night, he should be buzzing and hanging out with his "friends," the jocks. He normally enjoyed pretending to be someone he clearly wasn't in order to gain some popularity for himself and try to convince others that he wasn't a loser like he believed himself to be. But since this morning, he really wasn't feeling up to the task.

It all started when he saw Jessica in the hallway while he headed to his second period class. She was as beautiful as ever, and his heart ached when he saw her smile at Justin Foley as they walked to class together, hands interlocking sweetly.

She never realized he was even there.

This was where being bisexual really fucking sucked. 

It was as if the gods had completely disregarded Alex's mental wellbeing and decided to put his two biggest crushes together, probably the hottest couple in the whole school, just to spite him. 

He had a soft spot for Jessica ever since that afternoon in Monet's, when the two gorgeous girls sat with his lonely ass at a table, proceeding to make him feel part of their group and as if he belonged with them. Jessica had immediately caught his eye though, and he seemed to be obvious about his staring when both girls confronted him about it, embarrassingly. Once the usual group had slowly stopped coming to the charming cafe together and instead parted ways, Alex still failed at getting over the beauty that was Jessica. He had fallen hard for her, and when he caught her alone after one of her cheerleading practices, he worked up the courage to ask her out. When she said yes, Alex felt like the happiest guy in the world, even if he didn't believe that he deserved the immense happiness she provided for him.

Things between them were phenomenal, until the arguing started. This probably started when Alex's health started to diminish, giving him intense anxiety and overwhelming stomach pains that felt like he was being stabbed to death repeatedly, and forced him to stop eating as much as before. When Jessica tried confronting him about his health issues, Alex would snap at her, telling her to, "Mind your own fucking business," usually, and force her to give him the space he didn't want. 

After a few weeks of this behavior, Jessica broke up with him, and she was entitled to. 

While Alex was clearly unsettled and devastated by the break up, he knew that she had a right to break up with him. He was a waste of space and far too broken to ever fix. His depression worsened, and suicidal thoughts plagued his mind relentlessly. 

Jessica was his world. And now it's been taken away and he feels like he can't breathe. 

But that was now months ago. He moved on, right? 

That's what Alex tells himself every day, even though the sight of Jessica and Justin together squeezes his heart painfully, and increases the pain in his abdomen.

Then there's Justin Foley. 

Alex had always looked up to Justin. He was social, friendly, athletic and had a body chiseled to perfection, and as captain of the basketball team, he was the most popular guy in school (next to Bryce of course). Even while Alex was dating Jessica, Alex couldn't help but stare sometimes at Justin in the hallway, the way he lazily slung his arm around his friends, huge warm smile in place, and how Alex ached to take his friend's place. 

How could anyone be immune to the charm of Justin Foley?

He even found himself hiding in the back row bleechers at every basketball game, drinking in the sight of Justin prancing around the court, his loose clothing inviting his tan, muscular biceps to mesmerize him, and probably the rest of the crowd too by the way they screamed whenever Justin had the ball. 

He was beautiful, and everything that Alex could never have.

And then Alex bumped into Clay around 5th period.

Now Alex knew that Clay Jensen probably had good intentions, or wanted love advice with Hannah since he was pining after her relentlessly, and he did feel bad for him.

But when Alex saw him in the hallway and tried to speed up to avoid him, the, "Alex! Alex Standall, wait up!" Made him pause and let him catch up.

"What do you want, Jensen," Alex replied, irritated.

"I need to know if you're going to Bryce's party tonight. If you're considering it, don't go," Jensen warned Alex, a pleading look in his eyes.

"Clay, everyone's going to this party. I already told the guys I'm going so you can't stop me," he answered, scanning the crowd of people in the hallway to make sure his "friends" didn't see him conversing with Clay.

"Alex you know nothing good ever happens at those parties. You of all people should know that." He said, giving Alex a knowing look, a hint of accusation dancing in his features.

"Just leave, Jensen. I can handle myself," Alex muttered, shouldering past Clay to get to his Calculus class he would most likely sleep through. He couldn't deal with Clay's accusations and interrogations right now and heading to class seemed like the best option.

At home, Alex stood in his room, trying to figure out what to wear to the party. He figured he wanted to look nice, knowing he would see both Justin and Jessica, hopefully not all over each other, even though that thought had crossed his mind more than once when he was alone in his room late at night, overwhelmed with a need of release. 

He shook himself out of that mindset and just decided on a frayed navy blue sweater and black skinny jeans, grabbing a black leather jacket on his way out the door to finish the look.

Back to the present at the party, Alex was minding his own business, sitting on the couch with an orange soda when a highly intoxicated Justin Foley nearly collapsed onto his lap, causing Alex's heart to leap in his chest.

"Woah man, easy! Are you alright?" Alex asked him, backing up from Justin to give him more space. 

Justin looked up at Alex from where he was lying on the couch and inched closer to whisper in Alex's ear, "Wanna go upstairs?"

The hot breath from Justin's mouth on Alex's ear made him inhale sharply, and he was immediately hit with the overpowering smell of alcohol from Justin's mouth. He tried his best to think rationally.

"Uh, Justin I don't think that's a good idea, considering the state you're in right now. Maybe you should go ho-"

"No," Justin replied sharply, immediately retreating away from Alex, as if he'd been shocked. "There's no way I'm going home and being alone for the night. I'm not doing it," he explained, then a suggestive grin encompassed his flushed face, "You on the other hand Standall," he drawled, moving his hand to cup Alex through his jeans, "I'd do in a heartbeat."

Alex immediately groaned at the contact, feeling himself getting harder the more Justin spoke, and from the steady pressure he applied to the sensitive area.

"O-okay, maybe we should go upstairs," Alex replied breathily, trying his best to hoist Justin up from the couch and get him upstairs without falling and keep his dirty thoughts shoved in the back of his mind. 

After adversity from the stairs and other stumbling drunk people, Alex managed to get Justin upstairs, with the sole purpose of getting him to lie down and go to sleep before he got too out of control.

Alex tucked Justin into the bed and made to leave when suddenly Justin's warm hand gripped Alex's wrist and pulled him on top of his body. 

Alex gasped as he fell onto Justin's solid body, trying to ignore his thoughts once more at the suggestive position he was in, proving to him that he needed to go home asap.

However, Justin wasn't having it.

"Come on Alex, you have to staaaaayyyyy," he drawled, tracing circles onto Alex's wrist. Alex hummed, knowing this was a bad idea, but he couldn't find it in himself to resist the flushed cheeks, messy, sweaty hair, and the twinkling green eyes. He stayed with Justin on the bed, hoping he would start to calm himself down. 

He didn't.

When Alex started to get comfortable with the circles being drawn onto his skin, Justin surprised him by leaning forward to whisper in Alex's ear. 

"I've been watching you, Standall," Justin purred, taking the time to nip at Alex's ear, eliciting small breathy noises from the other boy's mouth.

"I've seen you watching me all night, with your piercing eyes, undressing me with them even in a room full of people now that's dirty, Alex," Justin continued, feeling satisfied when Alex closed his eyes and moaned slightly, finding it incredibly hard to keep his thoughts innocent with the way Justin was now kissing and sucking at his sweaty neck. 

"J-Justin you're drunk we can't do this now," Alex tried, however his body said otherwise when he let out a louder moan when Justin sucked and licked a hickey onto his collarbone.

"'M not that drunk," Justin grumbled, preoccupied with kissing and licking his way up Alex's neck, loving the slight whimpers and hums coming from the blonde.

Alex tilted his head to give Justin better access to his jawline, gasping at the way Justin nipped a painful mark into his sensitive skin, then immediately soothed it with his tongue. 

Alex knew this was a sticky situation, and Justin was clearly drunk from the way he could smell the liquor on his breath from a distance. But his body craved the attention, his hard dick emphasizing his point, from the other boy and his brain was finding it seriously hard to leave him.

But when Justin, gaining the confidence he needed from Alex, went in for the kiss, Alex knew that would be too much. 

"No Justin," Alex responded strictly. "You're drunk off your ass man and I'm completely sober," though maybe he was just drunk off of him, "This is not a good idea." 

Justin rolled his eyes, but then an evil grin slowly split his face in half.

Justin gripped the bottom of his tshirt and ripped it over his head in one fluid motion, stunning Alex into silence as his eyes raked Justin's sinister body. His sweaty skin, glaring tattoos, silver chain necklace, and his rock hard abs were enough to distract Alex enough so Justin could pull his head in for a kiss. 

It didn't last long, because despite the electric shock Alex felt when their lips finally met, Alex knew it was wrong and he couldn't bring himself to continue. 

Justin pouted at him, and leaned in, lips barely touching Alex's while he whispered, "You know you want this Alex. You know you want me. I know I want you," he murmured, making sure his lips grazed Alex's with every word he said, enough to drive Alex mad with want, "So don't be a pussy," Justin finished, connecting their lips in a heated kiss, lips meeting with purpose and passion briefly again, but longer than before, when Alex broke it off again with a sharp exhale. 

"Justin you have to st-stop," he warned again, brain short circuiting when Justin palmed Alex through his jeans again, releasing a pained gasp from the blonde because fuck he wanted him. Alex wanted Justin so badly it hurt, and the teasing was getting to be too much. He didn't know how much more resolve he had left in him, especially when Justin was stroking his rock hard dick through his jeans. He knew that Alex knew he wanted him, judging by the knowing smirk plastered on Justin's face.

"Alex Standall, you need to just give in. I know you want me as much as I want you, maybe even more. I'm really not that drunk, and I need you. I need you so fucking badly Standall, just feel it," he gasped, gripping Alex's hand to forcefully press on his also rock hard dick, straining through the denim. Alex needed to close his eyes and calm his heavy breathing because he was so worked up and needed to just get out of that toxic atmosphere. The feeling of Justin's dick was too much and made the resolve Alex had crumble even more, and he subconsciously moved his hands to grip Justin's broad shoulders.

With a million dollar smile, Justin tried one more time and closed the distance between the two boys quickly, immediately entering Alex's mouth and sucking on his tongue. That action right there completely shattered any lasting resolve Alex had and he let himself get lost in all that was Justin Foley.

He could taste the booze in Justin's mouth, momentarily reminded that he was drunk, but he was well past the point of caring, and instead explored Justin's hot mouth while Justin explored his. He bit on Alex's lip and tugged gently, resulting with a pleased whine from the blonde. 

Their kissing was hot and passionate, with Justin straddling Alex and Alex's legs wrapped around Justin. Alex's hands were buried in Justin's discheveled hair, and when he took a clump and tugged on it, he swallowed the moan Justin released as a result.

The two panted heavily when Justin broke the kiss to suck once more on Alex's neck. He closed his eyes and curled his toes in pleasure when Justin bit down again on his sensitive skin and then soothed it with his fucking hot tongue. 

"You look so hot in this jacket," Justin remarked, his voice breathy, "but I think you'd look better without it," he grinned, helping Alex pull the jacket and his sweater off. Alex loved the way Justin's eyes widened and frantically scanned Alex's shirtless body, immediately sucking on one of his hard nipples.

The sensitivity caused Alex to arch his back and moan loudly, as Justin stared at him, flicking his tongue over Alex's peck and then rolling it around with his pearly white teeth. 

"Justin Foley you're going to be the death of me," Alex gasped, fisting more chunks of Justin's sweaty hair as the other boy moved on to Alex's ribs, kissing and sucking more marks onto his pale skin.

However, when Justin started fumbling with the belt on Alex's jeans, he knew where to draw the line, despite how badly he wanted Justin to touch him there.

"Justin," Alex whispered, gently tugging the other boy's head to look at him. 

"You're too drunk, an-" but Alex was cut off when Justin interrupted him.

"Alex, I'm really not even that drunk," Justin replied, moving in closer to Alex since there was suddenly too much space between them, "and if anything happens tonight I'll know I'll remember it," he said with a wink, proceeding to remove the belt again before Alex stopped him again. 

"No Justin. I already got too carried away with you and have taken advantage of your drunken state. I can't possibly do any more harm," Alex replied, reaching for his discarded sweater. 

Justin frowned deeply, but seemed to understand where Alex was coming from. He swayed a little bit when he went to help Alex get his clothes back, earning a pointed stare from Alex. 

"Fine I guess," Justin huffed, moving to get under the covers of the bed when Alex got up. 

"Wait Standall, I have something for you," Justin shouted just before Alex left the room. 

"What Foley?" Alex asked, moving over to Justin again. 

Justin then quickly closed the distance between the two boys again by firmly holding Alex's neck to steal another kiss before he left for the night.

Alex closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the kiss, parting his lips to gently touch Justin's tongue with his own. 

He then broke the kiss and left the room, returned home, and proceeded to jerk himself off to the image of Justin Foley spread out on Bryce's bed, attempting to undo the belt of Alex's jeans. He then fantasized about what could have happened afterwards if Justin hadn't been so drunk and had the best orgasm of his life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of last night creeps up on Alex and Justin and causes unforeseen consequences. Also hints at a little Zach/Alex action

Alex woke up to his relentless alarm blasting Sleeping with Sirens at 5 in the morning. He groggily got out of his bed, sleepily padding down the hall into the bathroom. 

He couldn't tell if his parents were awake yet, or if they were even home, since his dad could very well have had an early morning shift at the station. 

Alex looked into the mirror and took in the huge purple bruises littering his neck as the memories came flooding back to him from last night; of Justin's sinful body, warm and sweaty on top of him, and the way his soft lips felt against his own, and how they felt against his neck, sucking the bruises into his flesh. 

Alex shuttered, feeling his dick remember the arousal he had during the whole thing. 

A cold shower would do the trick, Alex thought to himself, getting in and immediately feeling the frigid water slam against his hot flesh. Luckily, the freezing water forced Alex to forget about last night's festivities, and instead focus on getting himself clean and ready to take on the day, including dealing with Justin after last night.

Oh fuck. 

Justin.

He didn't even realize he would need to face him again, completely sober, after that night. He was dating Jessica, there was no way in hell he would ever be sexually attracted to Alex. 

He felt his heart plummet to his feet as reality weighed him down. Justin Foley was straight. He had a girlfriend. He didn't know what he was doing. Hell he probably forgot everything that even happened between the two boys.

He laughed harshly to himself as he massaged shampoo into his matted down hair. 

Why did he ever give in? He was so stupid, and let his feelings get in the way of his judgement. Ridiculous. 

This only made his self-hatred intensify. How could he ever take advantage of someone drunk off his ass? He didn't know what he was doing and wasn't thinking straight (obviously from the events that occurred), and how could Alex kiss him and let events escalate as much as they did?

He shook his head, made sure his dick situation was taken care of, and went downstairs to leave.

***

Justin walked into the school, flocked by Bryce and Zach. 

"And then I said, 'This may be the alcohol talking, but I wouldn't be able to BEER it if you didn't have sex with me tonight!'" Bryce exclaimed, earning a fit of laughter from the other two boys. 

"Oh Bryce, charming as ever," Justin replied, smirking jokingly until his eyes fell upon Alex Standall rummaging through his locker.

He gulped.

Justin knew he was completely smashed last night, and though his thoughts were jumbled like his sense of reality, he definitely remembered making out with Alex, and roaming his hands all over his skinny yet firm body. He gulped again and decided to face his fears and talk to him. They had to talk at some point right? Avoiding him would be useless.

"Fancy seeing you here, Standall," Justin greeted him, propping his arm against the locker in front of him in an attempt to look cool and casual.

Alex started at the sudden greeting, but then collected himself enough to say a weak 'hey' without meeting his eyes. 

"Justin where are you,-" Bryce questioned as Justin suddenly left his friends. He and Zach looked over at the two quizzically, leaning against the lockers and watched the scene before them unfold. 

Justin furrowed his eyebrows but then tried again.

"So how's it going?" He asked, tilting his head to meet Alex's striking blue eyes.

He saw Alex swallow harshly and frantically search through his locker, seeming desperate to find something that wasn't there. "Uh, I'm fine how about you?" Alex asked awkwardly, still not meeting his eyes.

Justin smirked, then figured it would be best to get straight to the point and forget the awkward small talk completely. 

"About last night," Justin started, finally getting Alex to meet his eyes, though they looked panicked and uneasy.

"Justin-" Alex interrupted, but Justin waved his hand in a 'let me finish' gesture. Alex shut up and let him talk though he looked really uncomfortable.

"I remember most of what happened, even though I was a little... distracted," he joked, earning a scoff and a sarcastic 'right' from the blonde, "but I'm dating Jessica, Alex," Justin stated softly and solemnly, "and I can't do something like this again. I know I was too forward and direct and didn't leave you much choice from my actions but I just wanted you to know that that can't ever happen again. I'm straight and can't make a stupid mistake like that again," he explained, though instantly regretted his last sentence when he saw the way Alex's eyes hardened at the word 'mistake.'

"Oh don't worry, Justin. There will be no more 'stupid mistakes' like that again," he snapped, slamming his locker door closed and shoving past the regretful brunette.

"Al-," Justin pleaded, grabbing his wrist in a desperate attempt to fix things, causing Alex to temporarily transport back to last night, and the way Justin gripped his wrist and pulled him on top of him. But he quickly murdered that thought and ripped his arm away from Justin.

This time Justin didn't try to reach out again, knowing nothing he could say now would fix things between them, and Alex appreciated it.

***

Alex headed into Monet's after school and ordered his favorite sugary drink, bringing back memories of the time he, Hannah, and Jessica all hung out at the coffee shop with hot chocolates and vented to each other about their problems. 

This drink had special significance however, since it was the last drink he ordered with the two girls before he stopped showing up to their friend meetings. He broke the routine of ordering his cappuccino, much to Jessica's pleasure, and ordered the new drink on the menu as a way of showing the girls he wanted a chance from routine, and wanted to do something else with his life. 

Being accepted by Bryce, Zach, Marcus, he who shall not be named, and the others gave him the popularity he always wanted, but he gave up the two best friends he ever had. The jocks aren't even his real friends; they just talk at school or party at Bryce's and get high together, checking out and hooking up with the hottest girls at the school if they got bored. It was nice having that attention, but it was fake and really didn't mean anything. 

However, as time passed, Hannah and Alex slowly started talking again, even though it was painful for both of them and didn't look good on Alex's end to be talking to her. They re-solidified their friendship after a few months of taking it easy and being cautious around everyone else; when Alex finally grew tired of caring what others thought of him. He decided to say 'Fuck it' and sat at Hannah's lunch table every day and hung out with her whenever he could. And god he missed her during those weeks they didn't talk or even look at each other during school. Her friendship was very important to him.

He wished he could say the same about Jessica. But since they broke up, they hadn't really talked or ever tried to rekindle their destroyed friendship. 

As he swam around in his thoughts, he never realized the presence that sat at the table Alex was occupying until the person cleared their throat and said Alex's name exasperatedly, as if they had been saying it repeatedly.

Zach Dempsey.

Alex huffed and mumbled a half-assed apology and sipped his drink.

Zach stared at him with knowing eyes, cupping his steaming mug as he prepared to lecture the blonde.

"Look Alex, I know what happened last night but just hear me out," he started, making Alex even more pissed because who the fuck was Justin to tell people about what happened between them? That was private information that should have stayed in Bryce's spare room. 

Zach noticed the way Alex's tired face tightened into an expression of anger, frustration, and betrayal towards Justin, and gently put his hand over Alex's to settle him down.

Alex raised a brow, but decided to lean back in his chair, retracting his hand from where Zach held it a little too long to be normal, and crossed his arms against his chest.

Zach cleared his throat again, a slight tint to his cheeks, but then continued.

"Justin was upset last night, Alex. It's not my place to tell you why he was so upset, but let's just say things at his house weren't the best, and he fled to Bryce's to get drunk to forget about what happened. He didn't mean to say anything bad to you man, he's not that type of person."

Alex felt something like sympathy twinge in his chest, but he quickly replaced it with contemptment. 

"Doesn't give him a reason to call me a mistake," he muttered, feeling his chest swell up with disappointment and self-loathing. 

Deep down, he knew Justin was kind of right. It wasn't a good idea for him to make out with the brunette, because he helped him cheat on his girlfriend which he really shouldn't have allowed. He really needed to stop letting his stupid school boy crush get in the way of his rational thinking. 

"He didn't mean it like that, Alex," Zach told him earnestly, "he meant cheating on Jess was a mistake. He really shouldn't have done that because when she finds out God only knows what'll happen to their relationship," Zach stated, sipping his coffee while maintaining eye contact with Alex. 

Alex didn't really like the way Zach was looking at him. It was cool and calculating, like he was looking for something on his face that he couldn't seem to find. It made him a little uncomfortable.

"Well, I appreciate you defending your little friend, Zach, but I want to hear this from Justin. Have a good evening," Alex concluded, reaching down to sling his bag over his shoulder and leave a few bucks on the table for the barista. 

He didn't miss the way Zach stared at his retreating figure from a mirror on the cafe wall.

***

Justin tossed his basketball up towards the ceiling and then caught it again as it descended back towards him as a result of gravity. 

He felt horrible ever since the encounter he and Alex had earlier, and felt like a massive douchebag. 

How could he call Alex a mistake to his face? God, why wouldn't he be pissed off after a comment like that? 

Justin groaned in frustration, slamming the basketball to the ground. He watched the ball lazily bounce against the floor slowly at first, then quicker and quicker as the distance between the floor and the ball decreased and decreased.

How could he ever tell Jess he drunkenly cheated on her? She of all people didn't ever deserve this kind of treatment from her boyfriend. 

He was so unbelievably lucky to be dating Jessica Davis, for she was the most gorgeous girl in the whole school and any guy would kill to be with a girl like her. 

Justin knew she loved him deeply, and God did he love her, that much was certain, but what kind of love was it? That was uncertain.

He always believed himself to be straight; he was team captain of basketball, a total asshole in the best way, and considered himself pretty good looking. He could never be gay; right?

He didn't know anymore.

He kept thinking about Alex, and what happened between them last night; the way he boldly cupped him through his harsh denim jeans, and how soft but firm his neck felt against his lips and tongue, and how electric he felt in a way not even Jessica made him feel.

Perhaps it was the fact that what they were doing was wrong and dangerous and unexpected that gave him an adrenaline rush and a super hard dick. That idea was really hot.

God he was so confused, but he knew one thing for sure.

He needed to make things right with Alex as soon as he could.

Whatever it took.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! I'm gonna try to update this every weekend if I have time! Comments always appreciated :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A week passes between that infamous drunk event, and a party at Jessica Davis's house starts an unforgettable night ;)

The next few days were more of the same. 

Alex saw Justin every day; his toned arm slung around Jessica, the two giggling together and having a grand ol' time living it up, making Alex want to rip his hair out in frustration.

Why couldn't he be immune to the charms of both of them? Why did he have to torment himself internally with fantasies and drunk-night-stands that apparently don't mean anything and are just 'mistakes?'

Oh Alex could never ruin Justin's perfect golden boy image by coming out to the school about what happened. That would completely shatter the highly esteemed position Justin upheld in this goddamn school and his highly sought after popularity; something anyone would kill to have. 

Popularity in this school was the steak caught in a pack of starving wolves. It was very hard to achieve, and students would go to severe extremes to obtain it.

Alex didn't care about any of that shit. 

He knew he wasn't the most popular guy in the school, however, after being taken in by the jocks, he had a reasonably admirable status (Even though his self esteem was nearly non-existent). 

He couldn't complain though; having popularity had some perks: he could go to pretty much any party he wanted to (even though he wasn't a huge partier), he could ask people to do his homework and they'd happily oblige (though he doesn't do this often since it's just rude), and more.

However, his popularity did nothing for his love life. In fact, it probably made it worse.

A few months ago, before he embraced his popularity, Skye tried to hook up with him numerous times. He remembered when he would order his coffee drink at Monet's and she'd stare at him with her big, dark eyes and smoothly scribble her number on the side of his cup with a wink. Alex kind of liked the attention, but unfortunately Skye didn't fit the hot, muscular asshole type he found attractive, or the gorgeous, bold cheerleader type he also appreciated.

After his status grew, Skye's efforts to hang out with Alex ceased. Maybe she was intimidated by his popularity. Maybe she hated popular people. 

Maybe some of both.

Anyways. 

Zach was acting very weird recently.

When Alex would sit at a lunch table with Hannah and sometimes Clay, he'd usually spot Zach across the cafe watching him. When Alex would pause his eating and confusedly raise a brow at him, Zach would quickly flush red, but send him an easy smile. Alex would usually offer him a weak half wave and then go back to talking with his friends.

He didn't really know why Zach kept acting like that. He seemed like a pretty confident guy; good looking, athletic, smart, and girls were constantly throwing themselves left and right at him. Why would he be embarrassed (or shy?) to talk to Alex?

It didn't really matter though, because even though Zach asked him to join their table more than once, he never did since a certain Justin Foley was also a member of that table. It would be a 'mistake' to sit with him and have people see them hanging out together.

An exasperated "Mr. Standall!" knocked Alex out of his thoughts and brought him back to Calculus. 

"Care to share with the class what you were so distracted thinking about?" Mr. Meyers quizzed, adjusting his spectacles and crossing his arms. Alex sighed. He could feel Justin's eyes on him as he mumbled out a barely audible, "No sir," returning back to taking notes. 

As Mr. Meyers continued droaning on about trigonometry, Alex thought about the awkwardness between him and Justin. 

God he wished that disaster of a night never happened.

Did he regret what happened? Yes and no. 

He obviously felt disgusting about taking advantage of a drunk Justin and how he probably wasn't even aware of his actions, despite saying he 'wasn't that drunk.'

But then there was the way Justin's lips felt against his own, and how his warm, firm body felt under his hands. And when Justin touched him through his denim jeans, the friction Alex felt as a result was addictive. 

He wanted more, but he knew he couldn't ever do that again. He was just a mistake, he didn't care that Zach tried to convince him otherwise. If he didn't hear it from Justin, he didn't believe it. 

It didn't help that Justin sat behind him in their math class. He had been tapping on Alex's shoulder with the eraser of his pencil relentlessly for the past week and every damn time Alex ignored him and pretended he was totally immersed in the lesson Mr. Meyers was trying to teach, Justin sighed heavily and tried to pass him notes that said shit like 'Please forgive me' or 'You know you don't hate me this much, you'll give in eventually ;).' He knew he did it in a desperate attempt to get Alex to forgive him for their argument in the hallway last week, but his words really hurt and Alex was having a hard time finding a way to forgive him.

Alex knew he was a mistake; his father told him that nearly every day. The negative connotation of that word hit a little too close to home and hearing it from Justin was like cutting open a fresh cut on an old scar. 

When the bell rang, Alex quickly gathered his stuff and bolted towards the door like he'd been doing all week, however this time Justin was fast enough to catch him. 

That bastard.

"Alex wait up!" Justin shouted, grabbing the other boy's shoulder and dragging him to come to a stop. Alex huffed in annoyance and mustered an, "I need to get to class, Foley," to no avail. Justin had Alex in his firm grip and the blonde had a difficult time trying to squirm away. Fuck Foley and his stupidly huge, strong biceps. Asshole. 

"We need to talk about what happened that night, Alex. We can't keep pretending like it never happened and carry on with our lives. This thing happened, and I need to know how you feel about it," Justin explained softly, making sure the rest of the students walking by them couldn't hear their conversation.

Alex looked into his eyes and saw the deep regret, desperation, and something else he couldn't quite name dancing around in his pretty green orbs. The overpowering warmth in those eyes ebbed away the frustration and angst Alex was feeling and he inhaled and exhaled deeply. 

"Justin, I don't really know what to say about what happened. You were drunk. I wasn't. I gave in to... uh... my teenage hormones I guess and took advantage of you. And I'm sorry I did that, I truly am, but I still don't think it's right for you to call me a mistake," Alex replied calmly, though he could feel his anger increase as he continued, "and you said so yourself you didn't want something like that to ever happen again so I guess I don't know why we're even discussing this at all right now," he finished, full out glaring at Justin who had shrinked away from the blonde and furrowed his eyebrows. His signature kicked puppy dog face was in full effect, and goddamit Alex couldn't deny him much longer with that fucking face. 

"Alex I know I never should have said that, but if you'd just please-," 

"Justyyy!" Jessica interrupted melodiously, successfully ending the argument between the two boys and re-established Alex's stubbornness to forgive him.

Justin groaned loudly in irritation and frustration as Alex took that distraction as a welcome exit for him to get to his class and procrastinate their argument once more.

However, Alex wasn't able to leave without hearing an irate Justin Foley yell after him, "We're not done talking about this, Standall! You can't push it off forever!" Alex turned around towards him in response, briefly walked backwards and offered the other boy a victorious smirk as he flipped him off. 

Their argument could wait another day. 

*** 

"So are you going to Jessica's party tonight?" Hannah asked Alex, moving to lay on her stomach on his bed and cross her ankles in the air behind her. 

Alex nearly choked on his tea and gave Hannah his best look of disbelief. "You didn't just ask me that question, Han," he replied, picking on a loose thread on his blanket. 

She rolled her eyes. "Alex, you're never going to get past what happened that night if you don't quickly put yourself back in the same environment before you're too scarred to ever party again. You need to loosen up and live a little!" She reached over towards him and shook his shoulders a little after she finished what she was saying.

Alex couldn't help but laugh a little at her enthusiasm, but she did have a point. "Fine fine fine, I'll go. For the thousandth time you're right. I won't be scared of partying and having a good time because of something that only happened once. It'll be fun to see everyone," Alex concluded, earning an excited scream from Hannah. 

Then a look of sudden realization tinged with mischief shadowed Hannah's face. Alex stared back at her in confusion and apprehension. "I have just the thing to complete your outfit, Alex," she told him, pulling out her purse and rummaging through it. 

When she finally extracted a plastic cylinder from her bag and turned towards him excitedly, Alex's eyes widened and he immediately retaliated, "Oh god, no no no," he said, backing away from Hannah on his bed. She looked at him with an amused twinkle in her eye. "Alex come on. You'll look irresistible and totally hot if you put some of this on! Trust me, you'll thank me later," she said, moving towards him again. 

Alex was suddenly brought back to a time when Hannah came to his house around 6pm one night crying because she and Jessica had gotten into a huge fight that ultimately ended their friendship. She was in such a vulnerable state, and they watched movies together, ate ice cream, and he let her vent about how she was feeling and how their argument got so bad that it couldn't be fixed. 

He could put up with Hannah's ridiculous suggestion just this once. 

"Fine. Just don't kill me before the party even starts," he relented, smiling slightly when Hannah beamed and got to work. 

He didn't know why he let himself get into these situations. 

*** 

Justin stood against the wall with Bryce, Zach, and Montgomery, watching his peers dance to the thumping music and electrifying bass that consumed his girlfriend's house. 

Speaking of which, he hadn't seen the hostess of the party yet, and he'd arrived about half an hour ago. 

"So Justin, what the hell happened between you and that weird Standall kid in the hallway today? Something we should know about?" Bryce questioned, raising an eyebrow at the other boy while he took a sip of his beer. 

Justin played it cool even though he was panicking on the inside and said an easy, "Nahhh, he just never gave me the notes I missed in Calculus from a few days ago. Really annoyed me." All three guys looked unconvinced.

"You haven't missed a day this week, Justin. Explain that," Montgomery chimed in, analyzing Justin's face quizzically. 

However, Justin already knew exactly what to say to get them all off his back.

"I skipped class. Didn't want to deal with that asswipe Mr. Meyers," he confessed, earning two smiles and a good-natured roll of the eyes from Bryce, who replied, "Of course you did, Foley. There's our captain!" He exclaimed loudly, making all the other guys laugh. Justin laughed along with them, but slowly stopped when his eyes locked on the newest additions to the party: Alex and Hannah. 

While the other three boys launched into appalling stories of the infamous Mr. Meyers, Justin drank in the sight of Alex in a skin tight black tshirt, clearly showing the outlines of his collar bones, ribs, and biceps. His legs were hugged in dark denim jeans, and his nose ring glinted in the light. 

Justin's mouth suddenly felt like a cotton ball had sucked up all the moisture he had, and he decided to get a drink, steering clear of any alcoholic beverages just to take precautions, not because he was planning for anything to happen between him and Alex again and he wanted to remember every detail. Course not.

Because that would be ridiculous. Psh. Justin Motherfucking Foley never plans to have sex or fool around with anyone; he accepts invitations from gorgeous girls like Jessica, and Jessica only.

But then the thought of messing around with Alex in one of Jessica's rooms was ridiculously hot, and it really shouldn't have been, considering the fact he was her boyfriend, for God's sake

Dammit he needed to talk to him.

Justin searched for Alex in the crowd, losing him while getting stuck in his own head, but finding him outside on Jess's deck, talking to Hannah and Clay. 

He took a deep breath, found a mirror to check and make sure he looked presentable, and headed out to talk to him.

The air was a chilly as Justin walked out, and he needed to drastically change the direction he was moving in when several smashed people nearly rammed into him, too drunk to comprehend the concept of personal space, apparently. 

He hoped he wasn't that bad when he was drunk with Alex, because that would be embarrassing as fuck.

"Standall," Justin greeted as he saw the other boy talking to his friends. As he got closer, he saw Hannah sneak a glance between him, then back to Alex, then back to him again. They both sent each other telepathic messages with their eyes, one of them looking frantic and panicked while the other looked mischievous and coy.

"Hiya Justin! Clay and I were just leaving," she said, ignoring the appalled look from Alex, "But you two have fun!" She concluded, leaning over to whisper something in Alex's ear that made his whole face turn pink. 

That was fucking adorable. Aaaand that thought should really not be in Justin's head.

Hannah took Clay's hand and dragged him back into the house, leaving the two boys to awkwardly stand on the deck alone. 

The clouds parted from the moon over their heads, casting a gorgeous pale light over the whole backyard, making Justin notice Alex's blue eyes and how they stood out to him more tonight. Holy fuck he might know why.

"Are you wearing eyeliner?" Justin asked the blonde, taking his red face as his affirmative answer. 

Oh fuck that wasn't allowed. He moved closer to Alex, enough so that he could see the black pencil liner that enhanced the blonde's deep blue eyes that swam with confusion, panic, and.. something else. He couldn't tell.

However, the two boys were now close enough that Justin could smell the cologne on Alex's clothes and the faint stubble that peppered his jawline. Neither dared to speak, for neither of them wanted to ruin the moment between them now, as they watched their breath swirl around in the air and disappear as quickly as it came. 

The anticipation could be cut with a knife at this point. 

Justin stared at Alex's pale, slightly feminine features; his structured eyebrows, defined cheekbones, the intricate bow of his lip, and damn he wanted to kiss him.

He could guess the other boy wanted it too, by the way he saw Alex's stare drop from his eyes to his lips, moistening his own with his tongue and moving microscopically closer to him.

Justin grew tired of thinking and waiting to make a move and gained enough confidence to lean in for the kiss when suddenly Bryce was outside and Justin damn near leaped away from Alex. 

He had honestly forgotten he was out in public and that his peers could have walked in on them at any time. He was temporarily transported back in time to that heated night when the two were so lost in each other that they forgot where they were and that the world existed outside of that room. 

But they were back to reality, and what Bryce said next invoked a knot of dread deep in Justin's chest. 

"Well well well, I hate to interrupt you two from whatever the fuck you were about to do, but would both of you like to join us and a few friends to play Truth or Dare?" He asked with a highly suspicious smirk.

Justin knew if he didn't accept the invitation his friends would think he was weak and wouldn't ever let him hear the end of it. But agreeing to play would also mean that anything could happen, and after what Bryce just saw between him and Alex, who the hell knows what could be in store for them. 

"Count us in, Walker." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :)


	4. (Announcement)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An announcement of an error I made in the first/third chapters

Hi everyone, I'm sorry this isn't a chapter but it was brought to my attention by one of my readers that I mentioned Hannah Baker's death in the first chapter and then she was alive again in the most recent one. So, I updated the first chapter again and the second as well to make sure she's alive if you guys wanna check it out :) And thank you to everyone who keeps reading/leaving kudos/commenting on this work because it makes me really happy that you enjoy it and motivates me to continue writing more. So thank you all <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A crazy night of Truth or Dare commences at Jessica's party and it effects everyone.

Alex and Justin followed Bryce back into the house and went downstairs.

As they headed down the creaky flight of stairs, Justin leaned over to whisper, "This is gonna be interesting," in Alex's ear, his hot breath and low tone causing a shiver to run down the blonde's spine. He nodded and followed Bryce as he walked into a new room.

There was a leather couch propped against a wall, currently occupied by people smoking weed and vaping. The whole place smelled like sweat, booze, and faintly of sex, much to Alex's disgust.

Jessica, accompanied by Zach, Montgomery, Marcus, and Courtney, was sprawled out on another couch closer to a flatscreen television, clearly intoxicated by the way she was laughing at nothing and has a few empty cans of Bud Lite scattered around her couch. This is where she must have been when Justin couldn't find her earlier. Guilt settled heavily in his stomach at the sight.

Her glassy eyes lit up as soon as she saw Justin, reaching her arms out to him like a greedy toddler and called, "Jussssttyyyyy! Come over here, haaandsomeeee!" 

Alex heard Justin softly groan in irritation next to him after she called him, but he encouraged Justin to go over to her (Even though he would obviously rather he stay with him; he figured Jessica needed him). 

Justin glanced at Alex before he left to stay with her in an 'Are you sure?' gesture. Alex nodded and ushered him towards her, earning a tight smile from the brunette in response.

He watched Justin head over towards Jessica and how he laughed in surprise when Jessica grabbed his torso and pulled him on top of her, giggling like a crazy woman as he laughed with her. He saw the way Jessica looked up at Justin with utter adoration and admiration, and he felt a pang in his chest.

Was he being selfish at the fact he was jealous of Jessica? Was he being selfish at the fact he wanted to switch places with her, with Justin being on top of him instead? He had to be, but he was also human. 

Everyone liked Justin Foley; he was obviously hot as fuck and a sinful basketball player. He was the literal definition of a jock and you had to be a lesbian to be immune to his charm.

He couldn't forget that night they shared, despite how hard he tried to. Everything about their experience aroused him, and he wanted more, more, more. But then Justin called it a mistake, and there was no beating around that bush. 

Alex spotted an empty chair across the room from Justin and Jessica and made his way over to it, taking extra caution as he stepped around passed out drunks littering the floor. He sat down with a sigh, sore from standing around for hours earlier during the party.

But at the same time, Justin did say he 'wanted' him during their encounter, and his actions sure as hell weren't straight. And lately he noticed Justin had been getting a little agitated with Jessica; like the little things she did seemed to annoy him easily. 

A loud, "Is everyone ready for the game?" from Bryce snapped Alex out of his increasingly dangerous thoughts. A few half-assed cheers and 'yeah''s served as his reply, and he rolled his eyes and shook his head at them disapprovingly. 

"Okay guys, try to contain your enthusiasm. We'll start with Marcus," Bryce commanded, swiveling his head in the direction of the man in question, along with everyone else in the room. Marcus shifted uneasily.

"Marcus, truth or dare," Bryce inquired. 

Everyone waited with baited breath for Marcus's reply, and a few gasped and cheered when he answered, "Dare." 

Bryce smirked. "Marcus, I dare you to sit on Montgomery's lap for the rest of the game." Both boys squawked in protest, but Marcus eventually moved to park himself on Montgomery's lap with a wince. 

Bryce snorted. "Well don't you two make a lovely couple," he said, watching the way Marcus maintained a pained grimace as Montgomery kept shifting in his seat, both clearly uncomfortable. 

Alex smirked, enjoying how uncomfortable Montgomery looked since he never liked that guy. He just always got bad vibes from him; like he was always up to something mischievous and troubling.

"Standall!" Marcus exclaimed, startling Alex back to reality. Shit. He forgot he actually had to play this game. 

"Truth or dare?" He asked darky, causing everyone in the room to look at him, including Justin. 

Alex frantically looked at the other boy, searching for some kind of assistance or reassurance. Justin mouthed, 'You can do it' and gave him a subtle thumbs up. Alex inhaled and exhaled slowly.

He didn't want to come off as a pussy, since that seemed to be his reputation among this group of people, so he picked the response that would get the best reaction out of people.

"Dare," he replied shakily, crossing his arms in an attempt to look cool and collected. Marcus smiled devilishly and leaned forward on Montgomery's lap.

"Play gay chicken with Zach." 

The whole room went silent. Alex's heart started thumping erratically and he felt panic and disgust well up in his gut. 

He saw Zach stand up out of the corner of his eye, but he was preoccupied with staring at Justin, desperately seeking assistance or a way out of this. Justin only stared back at him, mouth gaping open, ignoring the way Jessica rubbed circles into his chest in a bored fashion, trying to get his attention.

Had Zach told Marcus that he possibly had a crush on Alex? Why else would Marcus be grinning at Zach right now because the raven haired boy started pulling on the collar of his polo shirt in a nervous way? Alex saw Zach glare at Marcus, who only leaned back in his seat with his arms supporting his head, completely relaxed.

He heard Bryce and Marcus start laughing and suddenly Zach had crossed the distance between them and parked himself in front of him. Alex gulped.

He leaned in to Zach's ear, earning a few 'woops' as a result, but he ignored them whispering,"Just saying, I'm not gay, okay? And I know you aren't too so hopefully this isn't a big deal?" He saw goosebumps form on Zach's neck after he said it and inwardly cringed.

Maybe Zach wasn't as straight as he thought.

Zach nodded though, and replied, "Yeah totally," scrunching his eyebrows to seem nonchalant. 

Alex sighed. Here we go.

But before they did anything, Alex sneaked a glance towards Justin. He was just staring at the blonde, seeming at a loss for words and unable to move or comprehend the situation at hand.

Alex turned back to Zach and closed the distance between them, embracing a 'Fuck it' attitude and pressed his lips firmly against Zach's. He immediately knew it felt nothing like kissing Justin; no sparks, no intense arousal or desire for more, but it also wasn't bad. 

Zach kissed with determination, closing his eyes and tilting his head to get better access in Alex's mouth. The blonde tried not to grimace when he felt their tongues overlap, but he ignored the feeling and continued kissing him. He felt the vibrations of Zach softly moaning in his mouth which threw him off a little, causing Alex to break apart from him to catch his breath. 

He took a quick look around at the people watching, most of them snickering to themselves and each other and muttering colorful words like 'faggots.' 

He saw Bryce analyzing them with a weird glint in his eye, a soft smirk in place. 

But Justin was another story.

Justin was sitting bolt upright, as if there was a massive stick up his ass, and stared at the two boys with hard eyes. His features almost looked angry, from the hard set to his jaw and his eyebrows drawn firmly together. 

He has basically disregarded Jessica completely, for she was trying to get a reaction out of him by kissing his neck and playing with his hair, but to no avail.

If Alex didn't know any better he would say he was.. jealous.

But there was no way, right? Why would he be jealous? 

Zach leaning in to connect their lips again broke Alex out of his thoughts once more. He felt Zach's hand slowly ghost down his neck and down his chest, leaving tiny tingling sensations in his path. Maybe it was just making out with another guy that was getting Alex a little worked up, and he realized he was losing.

Well Alex didn't want to lose, so he figured the boldest thing to do would be to touch Zach's bulge.

Yes, he noticed the tented pants Zach was wearing and saw right through the way he tried to hide it by facing his body towards Alex and away from everyone's prying eyes. 

Here went nothing, Alex thought to himself. Taking a deep breath, Alex's hand lurched forward and he cupped Zach's (grossly) hard dick through his jeans. At that, Zach jumped backwards and moaned loudly in surprise. All eyes landed on Zach, since his response was shocking. 

Zach's face was bright red with embarrassment, and he got up to flee the room quickly. Alex noticed that Justin and Jessica were now making out on the couch; Jess straddling Justin's lap, her hands buried deep in his artfully discheveled hair. Justin's hands rested on Jessica's lower back, and Alex didn't miss the way Justin opened his eyes briefly, staring directly at Alex as his hand fell to grope Jessica's ass, and then closed his eyes again.

Alex rolled his eyes and felt anger and longing fill his stomach at the sight. Apparently they were playing the jealously game now, and he didn't really want to play.

"Alright well, that was.. something," Bryce remarked after Zach left, approaching Alex to give him a high five. "You've got balls, man. Good job," he ruffled Alex's hair before he returned to his seat, earning a glare from Justin, who'd paused his make out session to hear what Bryce said. 

"Standall, go ahead and ask someone," Bryce demanded from across the room. Alex looked at Justin.

"Foley, truth or dare," he quizzed, finding enjoyment in the way Jessica peeled herself off of Justin with a pout. 

He stared at Alex heatedly and replied, "Dare," with a piercing smile.

Alex pondered what to make him do. He didn't want Justin making out with any other guys except him, and he also had enough Justin/Jessica for one night. 

"I dare you to tie a cherry stem in your mouth," he commanded, leaning back in his chair and smirking at the other boy.

Justin grinned at him, getting up from his seat on the couch, much to Jessica's annoyance, and picked up a cherry from a table in the center of the room reserved for cocktails. He sucked the cherry off the stem while maintaining eye contact with Alex and then shoved the stem in his mouth.

He maintained eye contact the whole damn time with Alex, who started to feel his dick fill up at the suggestion written all over Justin's smug face, as he twisted and sucked on the stem. 

Finally, after a few minutes of rolling it around in his mouth, Justin removed the stem and confidently showed Alex, along with the rest of the room, the perfect knot he formed.

Everyone burst into a round of applause, including Alex, who slowly clapped his hands and smirked at the brunette. He was really turned on now, and he grabbed a blanket that was neglected on the floor and covered himself up with it. 

The whole room didn't need to know Alex was hiding a boner from a fucking knotted cherry stem.

Justin exaggeratedly bowed a few times at the applause and resumed his seat next to Jessica, who cupped his face and pulled him in for a kiss.

Alex looked away from the scene and busied himself with retying his sneakers.

Bryce grew tired of waiting for the two to finish and shouted, "Foley! We know you and Jess want to suck faces till the end of fucking time, but we have a game to play and ain't got all day. Pick a person let's go," he sighed, throwing his arm around a random drunk girl who giggled into her bottle at the contact.

Justin pulled away from Jessica with a scowl and turned to Montgomery. "Truth or dare, pal," he said boredly.

Montgomery shifted from his spot underneath Marcus. 

"Truth," he replied, much to the disappointment of everyone in the room.

Justin concentrated on a question for a period of time, then grinned triumphantly as he countered, "Have you ever made a video of yourself during sex?" 

Monty visibly choked, obviously not expecting a question that forward. 

As time passed though, his ears grew pink and that was his tell. He obviously did.

Monty figured he'd just play it cool and answered, "Of course I have, who hasn't?" With an easy smile. Everyone laughed uncomfortably, but let the question slide. 

One of the benefits of being popular; no one questions your actions.

Monty turned to Alex next, asking him, "Truth or dare, Standall?" 

Alex knitted his eyebrows together in confusion. 

"But I just went," he argued, earning a roll of the eyes from Montgomery.

"And does anyone else care? Not really man. So go," Monty answered, sighing with annoyance.

Alex thought about it for a second, but then picked dare.

"I dare you to kiss the hottest guy in this room," he commanded, smiling like the cat that got the canary and fist bumping an amused Bryce.

Alex's eyes widened. 

Holy fuck time to panic.

How could he get away with this? Everyone just saw him make out with Zach and how he wasn't totally opposed to it, and they probably figured he would pick Zach.

But Zach still hadn't returned back to the game, which just left Justin. 

Had Bryce been suspicious of them ever since he saw them on the deck outside before this game started? He'd seen them about to kiss. 

There's no backing out of this one.

Alex made eye contact with Bryce before he slowly stood up to walk over to Justin. Bryce had a knowing look in his eyes, certain he knew who Alex would go to.

He walked right towards Justin, establishing eye contact with him as he moved forward.

He saw the way Justin's tongue darted out to moisten his lips and his eyes darkened with lust as Alex got closer.

Alex saw Chris out of the corner of his eye, getting up to get another can of beer, presumably.

Alex then sharply changed his direction and grabbed Chris's neck, joining their lips together in a brief, yet passionate kiss. 

A couple people gasped in surprise because they sure as hell didn't think Alex would choose Chris Hawkins, captain of the boy's lacrosse team, to be his 'hottest guy in the room.' Chris, with his shaggy dark blonde hair and light green eyes who had a thing for red headed girls, made a loud "Eghck!!!" sound that hurt Alex's self esteem a little bit and forcefully pushed him away, furiously wiping his lips with his fist. 

Alex tried not to feel offended at that.

He turned to Bryce whose face now looked stoic and neutral, no more traces of humor or certainty. 

Alex heard the sound of someone moving to get up, and saw that it was Justin. He mumbled out an, "I got to get home; strict curfew," excuse as he swiftly left the room and stomped up the stairs, ignoring Jessica's protests, without a second glance in Alex's direction.

Guilt and disappointment welled up in Alex's chest as he sat back down in his chair, massaging his temple with his index and middle fingers after what happened.

The only reason he didn't go and kiss Justin was because he couldn't destroy his image. Justin worked so hard to be seen as a perfect golden boy with a bright future and a loving, gorgeous girlfriend and he couldn't ruin that. He wouldn't sabotage Justin and make his life a living hell, despite how awful he felt when he left the room in such a rush.

Alex knew he fucked up, but he had a good reason and hopefully Justin would understand later.

He suddenly didn't want to stay in that disgustingly cramped room anymore, noticing the way his head was now pounding presumably from the smell of alcohol and other various drugs that were smuggled into Jessica's house. 

Plus the one person he came to the party for had left, so he didn't have a reason to stay anymore.

He faintly heard Bryce announce that they'd stop the game now, since so many people were leaving and it was getting late, as he climbed up the stairs and left Jessica's house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was really fun to write!! Thanks to everyone who keeps reading I love you all!  
> P.S. Chris Hawkins is not affiliated with the show at all, he's just an original character I needed for some drama, and sorry if there's some mistakes scattered throughout this chapter; it's 12:20am and I'm really tired lol


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex stays over Justin's house for the night and things get a little heated ;) (you're welcome)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!! I felt like writing more so here you guys go :) Happy Mother's Day everyone!!

Even though Hannah and Alex arrived to the party together, he found himself starting his car and driving away alone.

He couldn't find Hannah anywhere before he left so he sent her multiple worried text messages, anxiety knotting up his stomach. 

However, about twenty minutes ago Hannah replied to him saying she left with Courtney and they were eating a late dinner at Burger King. He felt a little better after that.

As Alex drove down the road around 3 in the morning, he noticed a figure with their hood up and hands in their pockets.

As Alex passed by, he realized the person was male, from the broad shoulders and saggy jeans, but when the headlights shone on his face, the person was no other than Justin Foley.

Alex rolled his window down and called out to him, startling the other boy.

"Justin! Do you need a ride? It's really late man." 

Justin weighed his options and replied, "Nah it's fine, Standall. Don't need your sympathy." He turned away from him and angrily exhaled, his breath illuminated by the orange streetlights. 

Alex sighed. Justin was clearly still mad at him.

"I honestly don't mind, Justin. It's cold as fuck so get in the car," he responded more firmly, causing Justin to look at him again with rage.

"Did you not hear what I said? I don't want your fucking sympathy Standall so you can shove it back up your ass next to Zach's dick!" 

Alex flinched. Justin huffed, but then realized he basically just screamed how jealous he was at Alex. 

Alex's gaze softened. 

"Justin I'm not offering you sympathy. It's cold out so just let me drop you off at home and be on my way." 

He watched Justin stare at the ground and consider the offer. Eventually he stepped towards the car, opened the door, and hopped in the passenger seat.

Justin immediately relaxed in the warm car, stretching himself out to thaw his cold limbs. Alex looked over at him and gave a small smile. 

They were silent for a few minutes with nothing but the soothing sound of Billy Joel flowing through the speakers until Alex broke the ice.

"Yeah you clearly didn't need a ride, Justy," Alex mocked good-naturedly, earning a soft snort and an eye roll from the other boy.

"I would have been fine without the ride. I don't live far, and only Jess can call me 'Justy,' he replied, though he smiled a little and eased Alex's nerves.

"A simple thank you would have sufficed," Alex said and he noticed Justin look at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Thanks," Justin muttered, turning to stare out the window. He propped his arm up on the window ledge and rested his head on his hand.

Alex smiled to himself, rounding the corner onto the other boy's street and slowly pulled into Justin's driveway. 

"Here you go," Alex said, feeling disappointment fill his stomach at how abruptly the car ride ended.

Justin went to open the door, but then paused. He slowly turned to face the blonde.

"Hey, uh would you want to stay over? It's already really late and it'll be morning soon. You should sleep," he uttered, figiting with the bottom of his sleeve. 

Alex gave him a warm smile. "Sure, yeah sounds great," he replied, getting out of the car and locking it.

***

They both headed into Justin's house and went upstairs to his room. The whole place was silent, leading Alex to believe the other boy was here alone.

Pictures of happy smiling faces decorated the wall above the staircase railing and he stopped for a moment to take them in.

There was a woman with gorgeous brunette locks and a warm smile hugging a little boy with bright green eyes; presumably a young Justin Foley. The woman must have been his mother. 

"Where is she?" Alex asked, tracing the outline of the young Justin. The other boy cleared his throat and replied very vaguely, "Not here." 

Alex glanced at him, a billion questions swirling around in his brain, but the pained look on Justin's face stopped him and he dropped it.

A question for another time.

As they ascended up the stairs more, a photo of an older man caught Alex's attention once more. He had dark hair with silver highlights to indicate age and a cigar hanging out the corner of his mouth. He was shown with his hand firmly clutching Justin's shoulder, almost in a posture of dominance. 

He looked at Justin again, his eyes portraying the questions he had, but Justin shook his head and murmured a, "Later" as a response.

Alex let it go and they walked into Justin's room. It was a good size; there was an unmade twin bed covered in dirty basketball clothes, walls covered in posters of famous basketball players and framed jerseys he collected throughout his years of playing, and a small flatscreen tv perched upon his dresser. 

"Sorry for the mess; I don't usually get many visitors besides Jess and Bryce," he apologized, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. Alex reassured him with a smile, "Don't worry man it's fine. Mines way worse."

Both boys laughed half-heartedly and Justin sat on his bed. Alex moved to sit next to him. 

"Thanks for letting me stay," Alex murmured softly, twisting his head to look at Justin. He caught the other boy already looking at him, and Justin's cheeks turned pink. He was so fucking cute. 

"No problem. I kinda wanted you here,-" he confessed, igniting Alex's stomach with contentment and relief, "because the party was uh, crazy and I needed to chill with a friend afterwards," he backpeddaled, trying not to hurt his pride and show the other boy he really wanted him to stay.

Alex's confidence faltered. "Oh. Yeah, that makes sense," he replied, feeling disappointment accumulate within him for the second time tonight.

He heard Justin sigh in frustration after the blonde's response and saw him grip his hair in annoyance.

"Alex. I didn't mean it like that. Look, during that stupid game of Truth or Dare, I got a little freaked out when you and Zach, um, you know, did that thing. And I was just wondering why you went along with it? You could have used a chicken card. Same with kissing Chris," he explained, looking at Alex with puzzled eyes. Alex gulped.

"Well," he began, inhaling and exhaling to collect his thoughts, "I didn't want Bryce to see me as a coward. I like not being the weird kid in school with daddy issues and a piercing, and being liked by him and the other jocks has it's perks I guess. And for the Chris thing," he paused. 

Should he be honest with him and admit his feelings or should he make up some bullshit excuse to avoid the question? 

Well, if he was reading the situation right, there was definitely some degree of sexual tension between them. He saw how upset, and even borderline possessive, Justin had behaved when him and Zach kissed. Then there was the way Justin stared at Alex when he approached him after being dared to kiss the hottest guy in the room like Alex was a sizzling piece of meat. There was also that suspenseful moment they shared on the deck outside before being interrupted by Bryce.

There had to be something there.

But was Alex ready to face the possibility of rejection?

Justin peered at him patiently as he waited for Alex to continue.

Fuck it.

"I kissed Chris because if I kissed you, your image would be ruined and I can't do that to you," he confessed quickly, hanging his head to avoid Justin's stare.

The other boy's eyes widened.

"Holy shit I thought you liked him instead of me or something!" Justin exclaimed in relief, using his index finger to lift Alex's chin to face him.

"Wait, really?" Alex inquired, knitting his eyebrows together because there was no fucking way he was hearing this correctly.

"Yes Alex! Holy fuck I was so jealous last night man! At first I saw you and Zach and how into it you both were and it made me feel like you liked him and would obviously pick him over a fucked up douchebag like me. Then there was Chris, and I was so sure you would come over and kiss me. But then you grabbed him and I just couldn't stay there anymore. I felt horrible, because why wouldn't you pick those guys over me? They're all smart and nice and ripped, and I'm none of those things," Justin shared, running his hand down Alex's arm. 

The blonde's breathing hitched, and he took a moment to enjoy the feeling of Justin's hand on him before replying.

"Justin, I don't like Zach like that. I think I just gave in because I had to play the game anyways, so may as well enjoy it. And for Chris, I assure you I don't like him like that either. He was just an obvious choice; a sport's captain who was obviously straight and toned-," the grip on his arm tightened, "but you're obviously more fit." He laughed, enjoying how Justin made a noise of agreement and continued rubbing Alex's arm. 

"And don't be so hard on yourself, Justin. You're all of those traits and more. And you're not that much of a douchebag even though you have your moments,-" Justin smacked him and Alex barked out a laugh. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. But you're really sweet, funny, muscular," he drawled, squeezing Justin's bicep for effect, "and a great guy overall. Jessica is lucky to have you," he concluded, watching how Justin's features temporarily turned from happy and relieved to sad and guilty in a matter of seconds.

"Alex, I think I'm going to break it off with Jessica soon." He admitted, earning a shocked glance from Alex.

"Really? Why?" He quizzed, staring into his bright green eyes.

The other boy smiled at him fondly. "Because I'm falling for someone else," he whispered, leaning into Alex's personal space.

Alex internally screamed in victory and caressed the nape of Justin's neck to quickly pull him in for a kiss.

They kept it chaste and sweet in the beginning; just connecting and reconnecting their lips repeatedly, both alternating between kissing the upper and lower lips of the other boy's innocently.

Then Justin took the risk of tracing Alex's lower lip with his tongue, granting himself access into the blonde's mouth and things got steamy quickly.

Their tongues massaged each other while their hands curiously explored the other's clothing-clad bodies.

"You look so fucking hot with that eyeliner on," Justin breathed against Alex's ear, nipping at the lobe playfully. Alex groaned in pleasure, gripping the hairs on Justin's neck to connect their lips once more.

Justin moaned as their tongues overlapped again, tugging on the bottom of Alex's shirt to subtly hint he wanted it gone.

Alex broke the suction between their lips with a 'smack' and swiftly pulled the shirt over his head in one fluid motion.

Justin's hungry eyes raked over the blonde's lithe body, hands coming to grip Alex's bony shoulders and then trail down the length of his chest. 

"Take yours off too," Alex gasped, the feeling of Justin's hands roaming his body making him go crazy with arousal.

Justin grunted and pulled his shirt over his head quickly, whipping it across the room as he moved to reconnect their lips, straddling Alex's lap. He gently pushed the blonde back onto the bed, moving to stay on top of him.

Alex's hands moved to bury themselves in Justin's hair, loving how he keened under his touch.

Justin lighty bit and pulled on Alex's lower lip, resulting with a guttural moan from the blonde. 

Alex couldn't help but think how much better it was to kiss Justin instead of Zach or Chris. Justin's soft, determined lips electrified him and made him feel wanted in a way no one else ever could.

Alex traced the muscles of Justin's warm back and rubbed his broad shoulders. Justin broke the kiss to bite and suck on Alex's neck, which he extended to give him more access.

He breathed heavily as Justin licked and sucked on his tender skin, his eyes rolling back into his head and back arching in ecstasy.

Justin left hickey after hickey, murmuring a soft, "mine" after each one and Alex never wanted it to stop.

Justin's hands ghosted over the button of Alex's jeans, a silent request.

Alex opened his mouth to let him, but instead of a reply a big yawn escaped his lips.

Justin laughed softly, and backed off of the other boy.

Alex pouted, but he honestly would rather do that kind of thing with Justin at a time other than nearly 5 in the morning.

Justin fetched both of their shirts and jumped right back onto the bed, making Alex bounce a little. 

"Alright sleepy head, we should get some shut eye; it's really late; or early; I don't even know anymore," Justin stated with a smile, moving to lay next to Alex on the bed. 

They pulled their shirts on and Alex pressed his body against Justin's, effectively being the bigger spoon.

He smiled against the other boy and when his eyes drooped shut, he fell into the most blissful sleep he's ever had.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Justin have a romantic date night and things get really cute; also sets up drama for future chapters

Alex was the first one to wake up the next morning.

He felt the warm weight of Justin's arms wrapped around him as his head rested against the brunette's chest. His head moved with every breath Justin took; up when he inhaled, down when he exhaled.

He never wanted to leave the comfort of Justin's body, but his fucking bladder had other plans.

Alex reluctantly untangled himself from Justin's embrace and froze when the other boy stirred.

Would he regret last night like last time? No, Alex thought, they were completely sober and judging by the way Justin claimed him as "his" when he gave the blonde hickeys and confessed his jealousy towards Zach and Chris, there was no way he would regret it. He was as into it as Alex was.

Alex relieved himself and then headed towards the other boy's kitchen to make them breakfast as his way of expressing gratitude to him for letting Alex stay the night.

When he checked the contents of Justin's fridge, Alex felt a little stumped. 

There wasn't much food; only a few yogurts, a couple eggs, mayo, mostly rotten vegetables, and about a dozen beer cans.

Alex shook his head. 

He could probably go food shopping for Justin, since he clearly needed more food. 

But he didn't know if that would be overstepping or not; Justin could get offended or get angry at Alex for thinking he needed help.

Alex instead settled on making them both omelettes; not all of the vegetables had gone bad; there was a perfectly good onion left over and a nice tomato he could chop up and use.

As Alex cracked the eggs into a bowl he found half assedly thrown into the sink, he thought about what happened last night.

He licked his bottom lip when he thought about the way Justin kissed him with fierce passion and enthusiasm that left him feeling breathless and aroused. The way Justin's hands explored his body and provoked sensitive areas made Alex feel weak and turned on.

He dropped one half of an egg into the egg mixture when he remembered how close they were to going all the way; Justin was ready to touch him, but Alex fucking yawned and ruined the mood.

Alex shook his head at himself and removed the egg shell from the bowl. He was such an embarrassment.

Alex chopped the vegetables and channeled his inner Gordon Ramsey as he skillfully maneuvered the veggies into the sizzling egg mixture on the stove.

"Morning, Chef," a new voice greeted him as he whipped around to see who entered the kitchen.

Justin was standing there in his pajamas with his hair matted to his forehead and his shirt rucked up to expose a sliver of his tanned chest, making Alex's mouth water.

"Hey," Alex replied, turning back around to tend to the eggs. He tried not to let Justin's warm, raspy morning voice mess with his head. 

He heard the floor creak a little as Justin moved closer to him, wrapping his arms around Alex's waist. Alex closed his eyes and leaned his head back to rest on Justin's shoulder.

"I didn't know you could cook." Justin murmured, using his thumbs to run small circles into Alex's hips.

"You never asked. Or gave me much to work with," Alex smirked, enjoying how he saw Justin's cheeks redden.

"Yeah sorry- I always forget to go grocery shopping. Usually stay at Bryce's anyways." Alex pressed his lips together into a thin line and told himself he wouldn't get jealous.

However, Justin caught him.

"Awww, look who's jealous now," Justin cooed obnoxiously, squeezing the blonde's hips and laughing as Alex squeaked at the surprising contact.

"Shut up and leave me alone before I burn our breakfast," Alex joked, playfully shoving Justin off of him so he could focus.

He heard Justin huff and pull a chair from the kitchen table and took a seat.

Alex flipped the omelettes over and let them cook a little longer as he watched Justin watch him; elbows perched on the top of the chair and head supported by his hands.

Finally the omelettes finished cooking and Alex grabbed two plates and joined Justin at the table. 

"Thanks, mom," Justin stated, earning a playfully glare from the blond.

"No problem, son." Alex replied with a small smile. He revelled in the husky laugh Justin gave him.

Alex curiously watched Justin take his first bite, then his second, then his third.

Pride welled in his stomach when he saw Justin moan around his forkful of omelette and take bite after bite after bite.

Alex wasn't even halfway through his when Justin set his fork down and let out a satisfied burp after he finished.

"Damn, Standall. That was a really fucking good omelette. Probably the best one I've ever had." Justin said as he relaxed back in his chair. Alex smiled a little.

"No problem. I figured I'd thank you for letting me stay the night. And.. other stuff that happened too," he smiled, taking another bite of his omelette.

He saw Justin smile, but then it faded a bit at the corners and didn't reach his eyes. 

Alex's eyebrows drew together and he set his fork down. 

"Talk to me," Alex commanded, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms across his chest.

Justin licked his lips and ran a hand through his hair nervously.

"Look Alex. I enjoyed myself last night a lot. Like, you really know how to make a guy come undone," he started, earning a tiny smile from Alex. Then he continued.

"But, I've been thinking. And I can't break up with Jessica yet. She's going through a lot right now, Alex and I can't leave her yet. She needs me," Justin confessed. Alex felt his eyes prickling and his stomach twisted into a harsh knot. 

"Justin-," Alex tried, but the other boy waved him off to stop him.

"Please let me finish. This is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. There's no denying the attraction I feel towards you, Alex. It's there and I can't get rid of it. I just need to know if you would wait for me. Please. I'm going to break up with Jessica but she needs me right now, Alex. I promise I won't have sex with her. Because that would be a form of cheating, since I want to be with you. But what I'm asking you right now, Alex, is if you'd wait for me," Justin concluded with a choked sob, thrusting his head down into his palms as sobs overtook his body.

Alex stared at him and felt tears of his own spill down his cheeks. What the hell was he supposed to say? He didnt know what to say or what to think, but he knew what he could do right then.

The blond slowly got out of his chair and instead tentatively snaked his arms around Justin's shaking body. Justin quickly turned around and wrapped his own arms around Alex, both boys clutching each other and sobbing.

"I'll wait for you, Jus-tin," Alex choked, earning a harsh sob from the other boy. "I'll always wait for you," he finished, fisting Justin's shirt as he pressed closer to him. 

Justin continued shaking and sobbing against him, soaking Alex's shirt but he didn't care in the slightest. Alex continued holding onto the broken boy and vowed to himself he would never let him down and would wait as long as he needed to.

***

The next morning at Alex's locker, he saw Justin and Jessica walk into school together. Justin's arm was thrown around her shoulders and she had her arm wrapped around his waist. The two of them were smiling widely and laughing together. 

When Justin's eyes locked on Alex's, all the mirth transformed into a small private smile reserved for only Alex. Alex smiled back and turned to finish going through his locker. He could do this.

***

Alex and Justin walked to Calculus together and joked around the whole class period; Justin kept tossing crumpled pieces of paper at Alex's head and laughed quietly when the paper got stuck in the blond's hair. Alex kept stepping on Justin's feet when they stretched under his desk. Their teacher either just ignored them or never noticed their shenanigans the whole time.

When class ended, Justin jogged after Alex when they both left. "Yo, Standall!" He shouted across the hall conversationally, earning a few strange looks from their peers. Alex turned to face him with a small smile. "What do you want, Foley?" He asked, faking a disinterested tone for his classmates. Because why would all star Justin Foley be talking to popular but still weird Alex Standall? Justin caught up with him and responded, "Well, don't have to act all excited there, dude." Eventually the prying eyes went back to what they were doing and let the two boys converse.

"So, want to go to Elk's for dinner tonight? It can be like a low key date where no one will look to find us," Justin asked, resting a platonic elbow on Alex's bony shoulder. 

Alex smiled, but still felt a sad pang in his chest at the 'no one will look to find us.' But he understood why Justin was doing this. He always knew Jessica had problems with her father; he was a lawyer and took his job very seriously; almost too seriously. He was always traveling and taking jobs that were pretty dangerous and hard to win. Since Jessica's parents were divorced and her mother didn't live with her anymore, Jessica found herself home by herself a lot. Being alone probably was causing the problems in their relationship that Justin felt obligated to comfort her.

He just wished he had Justin to himself soon.

"Of course I'll go with you, Justin. Pick me up at 6?" He asked, stopping as the two boys stood in front of Alex's next class.

"See you then," Justin smiled, quickly moving to kiss Alex's cheek before anyone saw them. Alex blushed and gave Justin an awkward wave as he left down the hall.

Little did he know there was one suspicious Zach Dempsey staring at their exchange. 

***

"He told you WHAT?" Hannah exclaimed excitedly, grabbing Alex's hands and squeezing them with all her might. 

"Agh, easy there, Han. We're just going to Elk's for dinner tonight. No big deal," Alex replied, trying to play it cool. He was so cool. So cool he was practically frozen. 

Yeah he wasn't fooling anyone, from the knowing look in Hannah's eyes. 

"Uh huh, Mr. Chill. You're going to Elk's! The most expensive restaurant in town! He's taking you on a fancy date! Oh my gosh what are you going to wear? I should put some product in your hair too, and-" but Alex cut her off before she got too carried away. 

"Yes, I know it's expensive, Han but it's because no one will see us there. He doesn't want anyone thinking we're dating, let alone talking in the hallway. People have been giving us weird looks all day. He's embarrassed by me," Alex sighed, sinking into the mattress. 

Hannah looked at him with sympathy. "Hey, it's okay, Alex. He asked for time and that's all you guys need. He didn't say he's embarrassed by you, so shush you twat," she said, playfully shoving Alex's shoulder, "but he's going to break up with Jessica. It's just a matter of time." Hannah concluded, patting his wrist, comfortingly. Alex turned to her and gave a small smile of gratitude. "Thanks, Han." 

She gave him a warm smile and then pulled him up by the arm. "Now let's get you looking like the hunk you are... deep down," she teased, laughing when Alex lightly shoved her against the wall. 

***

Hannah settled on dressing Alex in a black blazer with a burgundy button up shirt underneath and his signature tight black jeans. 

She used volumizing product in his hair too to make his hair stand up a bit more than usual and blow dried it back to get the swept back look. 

She took out his septum ring and told him not to shave the light stubble he had grown around his mouth and jaw. 

For the first time in a long time, he actually felt hot. 

When Hannah finished, she checked out her work and even said, "If I wasn't in love with Clay and you weren't my best friend, I would totally tap that!" 

Alex had a great laugh at that.

Alex sprayed his cologne on and finished just as he heard a polite beep coming from his driveway.

Hannah squealed.

"Ahhh! I'm so excited for you! Have fun, big boy! Don't forget to use protection!" She called out after he went out the front door. He quickly turned towards her and sent her a death glare before she closed the door laughing.

Alex fixed his blazer and continued walking towards Justin's car.

He saw the other boy roll the window down and let out a wolf whistle. Alex felt his cheeks heat up and he refused to stare at the ground like a lovesick school girl.

"Hey, gorgeous," Alex greeted, leaning into the car next to Justin. 

It was Justin's turn to blush at the compliment and he stared at Alex one more time before driving towards the restaurant.

Justin looked like sex on legs; he had a fetching black blazer on and a purple button down. His dress pants were black, and his loafers were perfectly polished. His hair was artfully messy and the blinding white smile cemented onto his face made Alex feel weak. 

How did he get so lucky?

Billy Joel's soothing voice streamed through the speakers softly as the two made comfortable small talk on their way to the restaurant. 

"Yeah and Mr. Seitz gave me a C! All because I kept looking at Bryce in the audience who kept holding up flash cards with the information from the PowerPoint slides on them!" Justin laughed, earning a few chuckles from Alex. He could totally picture a confused Justin squinting at the words on the flashcards since Bryce sat in the second row of students and was semi blocked by Margaret Collins in the front row.

"The only reason he didn't fail me was probably because I had a game that night and wouldn't be able to stay after and re-present. So you know what he said? 'Have a great game, sonny.' I'll never understand that man." Justin concluded, smiling when he heard Alex laugh at Mr. Seitz's words. 

"The benefits of being the all star jock, Justin Foley," Alex replied with a small smirk. Justin glanced at him with a grin. 

"It had its perks. Including being worthy enough to be in an enclosed space like this with an incredibly hot yet sulky teenage boy," Justin joked, earning an offended huff and a light snack on his thigh. Justin giggled in response. 

They finally turned into the parking lot of Elk's and stopped to let the vallet person park the car. 

"You know it's fancy when they park your car for you," Alex murmured in Justin's ear, enjoying how his breath made Justin visibly shiver.

"Right," the brunette agreed, opening the door for Alex to step inside first. He did with a pink face.

They approached the hostess and Justin told them the name of their reservation.

The hostess beamed at them, however, took a particular interest in Justin, as she looked him up and down unabashedly. 

Alex cleared his throat and stepped closer to Justin. He must have realized Alex was a little uncomfortable and he quickly took Alex's hand in his and kissed his knuckles. The hostess sulked after seeing their hands and quietly picked up two menus and guided them toward their table.

Justin kept Alex's hand in his as they were led to their table and butterflies swarmed around in Alex's stomach.

Finally they reached their table and the hostess left them alone. 

They both picked up a menu and surveyed their options. Alex was shocked that the least expensive entrée on the menu was $50.00 and he became nervous that they wouldn't be able to afford their meals. However, Justin seemed unfazed by the prices.

"Justin, don't you think this place is a little.. expensive?" He asked, looking up towards the brunette. Alex was taken by surprise at that moment when the candle light from their table illuminated Justin's features in a warm tan, orange glow. His eyes sparkled when he looked up at Alex and his breathing hitched at his beauty.

"It's okay, Al. I have the money for it." Justin smiled, making Alex's heart clench. 

Somehow Alex wasn't convinced though.

"But you can't even buy groceries for yourself, Justin. How do you have the money to pay for this dinner?" Before Justin could respond, a waitress came up to their table, introducing herself and asked for their drink orders. Again, she seemed to be captured by Justin's beauty like the hostess.

"I'll have the house champagne, beautiful." Justin responded, making the pretty waitress blush as she wrote it down. Alex swallowed down his jealousy as he told the waitress he wanted a beer.

"Alright fellas I'll be right back with those," she said, winking at Justin and shashaying away a little more than a normal person would. 

Alex caught Justin staring and took a deep breath. Justin turned to Alex and smiled, catching him off guard.

"What? Can't a guy have a little fun?" Justin smirked, then it faltered as he saw Alex break eye contact and look at the menu instead.

Suddenly his hands were enveloped by Justin's as the other boy looked at him seriously. 

"Okay, I'll stop. I just thought she might throw in a free appetizer or something if I flirted with her." He told him with an embarrassed smile, making Alex cough out a laugh.

"Well in that case, keep going," Alex laughed, squeezing Justin's hands as they stayed interlocked. Justin smiled at him fondly.

Alex heated up at the look. "Why are you looking at me like that?" Alex asked softly, a tiny smile on his face.

Justin's smile grew. "Because you're the most beautiful man I've ever met," he replied, moving to kiss his knuckles again. Alex just about melted into the ground.

"You're one to talk, Foley. You already enchanted the waitress and the hostess and it hasn't even been ten minutes." Alex stated, playing with Justin's fingers in his grip. 

Justin shrugged. "I'm already enchanted by someone else." He said confidently, squeezing Alex's hands again with a smile. 

Alex just about died.

"God you can't just say that and then expect me to wait to be with you," Alex said with a pained smile. 

Justin's smile faded and he gripped Alex's hands more firmly. "I know, Alex. I know it sucks. But please bear with me. I promise it'll be worth it in the end." He finished as the waitress came back. Her huge smile faltered when she saw their interlocked hands on the table. 

"Your champagne," she stayed, placing the glass on the table. Alex noticed how she made sure her cleavage was on full display as she leaned down. But he also noticed how Justin's eyes were fixed on him instead, and it made him so, so happy.

"And your beer," she said, placing the bottle in front of Alex a tad bit forcefully. Alex couldn't help but smirk a little. He knew fully well how much jealousy stung.

"Can I take your orders?" She asked politely, getting her notebook out. Justin plastered on his best smile, winked at Alex, and expertly gripped the waitress's wrist gently. Alex saw her jump in surprise, but then quickly compose herself with an almost painfully big smile. "Yes, Mr.?" She purred, stroking the hand on her wrist. Alex tried not to puke.

"If you give us a free appetizer I'll give you my number and we can go out some time?" Justin murmured, lightly kissing her knuckles. Alex could feel her excitement.

"Of-of course! What can I put in for you, on the house?" She smiled, pushing her arms together to accentuate her already prominent bust. Justin's face flickered to Alex. 

"We'll have the bacon wrapped dates stuffed with bleu cheese, my lady," he replied, making sure he stared at her chest. She nearly squealed. "You got it, buttercup!" She replied with a toss of her long blonde hair as she left.

Justin turned to Alex with a satisfied smile and Alex couldn't help but laugh. The man sure knew how to butter people up to get what he wanted. 

That thought stung a little bit, but he squashed it down. He wouldn't let a little negative thought bring down the mood.

*** 

The bacon dates were DELICIOUS. Alex damn near orgasmed when he had the first bite of one. Justin's stare got a little dark as he watched Alex moan around the food, and that look certainly didn't go unnoticed. 

Their food came shortly after that too; Alex stuck to the Italian classic Chicken Parmesan and Justin got some fancy shrimp dish that smelled fantastic when it got to the table.

They continued cracking jokes and ate their heavenly food as the night went on. Neither boy noticed the dark figure in the shadows of the restaurant observing them the whole time and taking a few pictures of them. 

They both finished their meals and Justin gave Alex an evil smirk as he propsosed sharing a piece of chocolate cake for dessert.

And yes. Alex would totally resist that. 

"Of fucking course not, Justin. Why the hell would I want a gorgeous piece of chocolate cake with a creamy chocolate ganache? Sounds disgusting if you ask me." Alex replied sarcastically, earning a kick in the shins from the other boy.

They both laughed and called the waitress over for a piece of cake. With a little bit of dirty flirting and unkept promises, they got the piece on the house. 

***

When the piece of cake came to their table, Alex nearly passed out just looking at it. If Justin Foley was a food, he would probably be this piece of cake.

It had a delicate hot fudge drizzle on the sides and a perfect dollop of whipped cream to cut the rich chocolate flavor. The cake itself was still warm, for Christ sakes, and Alex was in love.

He was more in love when Justin dug into the piece of cake and fed it to Alex, making sure he got chocolate all around his mouth in the process. Alex couldn't find it in himself to be even slightly annoyed, for he was the happiest he's ever been.

***

Justin pulled up to Alex's house and walked him to the front door with his hand on the small of his back. Alex turned around to face him when they got to the top of the front steps. 

"I had a miserable time tonight, Justin. Thanks for making my night suck." He stated with a huge smile. 

The other boy scoffed, mock-offendedly. "Yeah same. But maybe I can make it even worse," he murmured, before gently pulling Alex in for a searing kiss.

Alex closed his eyes and sighed through his nose, wrapping his arms around the other boy's waist. 

He felt Justin moan when Alex pushed his tongue into his mouth and gripped his firm shoulders. Justin's hands dropped to cup Alex's ass and the blond gasped as a result. 

"Jesus, Foley remember you have a girlfriend before this goes too far," he reminded him, regretfully backing away from the brunette.

Justin sighed, running a hand through his hair before he nodded.

"True, true. But not much longer, I promise." Justin whispered, going in for a chaste peck on the lips before they parted for the night.

"Good night Alex," Justin murmured.

"Night, Justin," Alex whispered and then he watched the other boy leave and drive away.

Alex opened the front door once the other boy was gone and leaned against it, slowly sliding down till he sat on the floor.

God he was so whipped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and being patient for this guys! I know this was late I'm sorry; I've been super busy with testing and finishing up my school year so bear with me :) This chapter is my baby and I hope you enjoyed reading as much as I enjoyed writing it! Comments and kudos always appreciated and sorry for any mistakes I didn't catch!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit starts to go down, but it's unfortunately needed to make future chapters better!

"Did you get the pictures?" Zach demanded, staring at the male silhouette sitting across from him.

"Yes. They look like they're on a date; look at their hands. That's not platonic. In any form of the word. Like a-"

"I get it, Tyler. They're into each other. But more importantly, Alex likes Justin. So we need to make Justin hate Alex."

"And you think doing this will work? That's pretty uh.. not nice." Tyler stated, doubt quickly flashing across his face.

Zach's face split into an evil grin. "Oh it'll work. I'll make sure of it. Once Justin hates Alex, I'll comfort him and he'll fall for me and finally we'll be together."

Tyler looked at Zach like he just claimed he'd eat McDonald's for the rest of his life without gaining a single pound. "Whatever you say, just pay up in full."

***

The next morning, Alex took a little longer to get ready for school. 

He usually  _never_ really cared about how he looked for others, because fuck what everyone else thinks, but now that he and Justin were a thing (sort of) he wanted to make sure he looked good.

God, was he a twelve year old girl in disguise? Because it sure as hell felt like he was. 

Alex shook his head at himself and went back to deciding on what to wear. He knew Justin liked when he wore burgundy, judging by his reaction to his outfit last night, and Alex smiled softly to himself.

How did he ever get Justin Foley to reciprocate his feelings? There had to be a catch in there somewhere because Alex wasn't that lucky. He felt like people still judged him for being sort of dark; his septum ring, black clothes, self-loathing yet sarcastic personality, and black eyeliner to be specific. He knew for sure Jessica didn't like him; obviously because of their failed relationship, but Alex couldn't help but wonder if her distaste for him came from something deeper. But what? That was the thing. He didn't think Justin would talk about him to Jess; they were still "dating" so there would really be no reason for Justin to mention his name.

Alex finally decided on a forest green and blue plaid shirt with dark blue skinny jeans. He kept his septum ring in and ran gel through his hair to style it into its signature upwards flick. He was going to talk to Justin normally, without caring that others would stare at them.

***

When Alex heard screaming across the high school campus before he even entered the front doors, he immediately knew something was wrong.

He picked up his pace as he made his way towards the entrance and stopped in his tracks when he saw the scene unfolding before him.

Jessica was red in the face with tear streaked cheeks, punching and shoving a distressed and confused Justin Foley against the lockers as a condensed crowd formed around the two of them. Alex saw Bryce, Monty, and Zach all standing in the front of the crowd, yet none lifted a finger to help. In fact, they all looked grim and angry; as if they  _wanted_ Jess to beat Justin. What the fuck?

"I fucking  _knew it!"_ Jessica screamed, hitting Justin's chest with force, causing the lockers to clash when the jock slammed against them, then again, then again.

Alex's heart jumped into his throat and dread coiled in the pit of his stomach as his mind wandered to what they could be fighting about. She couldn't have found out about the date, could she? He trusted Justin to keep that private, and he didn't think he would tell her anything since he was the one who usually reminded Alex that they were keeping their "relationship" on the down low. 

Justin wasn't even fighting back; he just took punch after slap after kick and let the tears stream down his face with a pained expression on his face.

Since no one went over to help him, Alex took the initiative to make the first move and he pushed through the crowd to come to Justin's aid.

"Jess, holy shit stop!" Alex yelled, squishing between Jessica and the brunette. Her anger ignited after seeing Alex, if it was even possible for her to get more mad, and fresh tears dropped down her cheeks.

"You! How could you do this to us? Now the whole fucking school knows about you two  _fags!"_ She spat, moving to push Alex out of the way, but he grabbed her wrists firmly to stop her.

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked forcefully, looking between her furious eyes and Justin's. Alex stilled when he saw the look Justin was giving him.

Justin was staring at Alex like he just took his house away from him. Betrayal, distrust, and a hint of surprise painted Justin's face and Alex felt like he was going to throw up.

What did he do to earn that?

Jessica smiled in disbelief and crossed her arms against her chest. "You and that fucking  _photographer_ you hired to follow you and Justin around? Ring any bells?" She asked exasperatedly, staring at him patronizingly.  

Alex's face contorted into angry confusion. "What photographer Jessica? Are you making excuses to make your boyfriend stop having feelings for me?" He seethed, eyes hardening at the false accusation she blamed him for. 

Jessica visibly flinched at that, and he gained a little dark satisfaction from it. Immediately she composed herself and was about to hurtle more insults at Alex before a new voice interrupted both of them.

"Alex I think you should leave," Justin interjected miserably. 

Alex's head whipped from facing to Jessica to turn towards the other boy, heart beating dangerously fast.

"Justin I didn't-" He choked before Justin raised a hand to stop him.

"Please." He replied, the word requiring great effort to get out.

Alex felt his heart drop to his feet and he choked on air. The next thing he knew, a teacher had finally gained the balls to stop the fight but Alex couldn't remember what happened next because his knees buckled before his surroundings blurred as his body crashed to the floor, vision completely dark.

***

Bryce finally agreed to give Justin a ride home after he begged for him to after the fight he and Jessica had. Justin knew that Bryce was homophobic and surely seeing the pictures of him and Alex together on their date must have infuriated and disgusted him. During Truth or Dare, Bryce may have seemed like he enjoyed watching the homo happening between some of the boys, but he was tipsy and enjoyed seeing other people uncomfortable. Plus, he knew the guys doing the dares weren't gay so he had nothing to worry about. However, seeing the pictures proves Justin's not straight which led to obvious implications.  

As much as Justin didn't want to admit it, he really liked the pictures Alex's photographer took of the two of them on their date. Their hands were interlocked over the table and they both had genuine smiles on their faces. Justin just couldn't understand how Alex would do something like this. He knew that Alex knew Justin wanted to keep their relationship under the radar until he broke things off with Jessica. He thought Alex understood that. But then there were the subtle moments that Alex didn't think Justin saw. Justin saw how Alex's face fell a little whenever he reminded the blonde that they couldn't come out yet. And he understood why Alex was upset about it. He really did.

He just couldn't imagine Alex ever disregarding Justin's wishes by hiring someone to take pictures of them and then coincidentally leak the photos throughout the school. Jess didn't deserve to find out that way. His heart clenched painfully as he recalled how angry and devastated Jessica was. Each blow she hit Justin with felt like a stab in the heart and he deserved each one.

How could he think sneaking behind her back with Alex wouldn't get out until he wanted it to get out? Liberty High had a way of rapidly figuring out private information and then informing every student about it right after.

Justin sighed and leaned his head on the car window.Bryce had stayed silent the whole time, but Justin didn't miss the way his fists gripped the steering wheel almost painfully tightly. It would take them a while to reconcile, unfortunately because it wasn't just Bryce that was mad at him; it was their whole friend group.

All the guys were pretty homophobic; some more than others. Marcus and Monty were disgusted since they were more of the religious type and didn't believe in homosexuality. Zach was confusing though; Justin was pretty sure he was at least bisexual; there was no denying the fact that he enjoyed playing gay chicken that night with Alex, despite the way Justin tried to forget about it. But then he also refused to give Justin a ride home. Everything just left him feeling more confused than he was before.

Bryce then pulled into Justin's driveway and parked the car. Justin cocked an eyebrow and looked at his best friend, nervous with the anticipation. He saw Bryce sigh and then punch his steering wheel in frustration. "Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were close enough that you'd tell me everything going on with you," he started, locking eyes with Justin. Bryce's gaze was confused, annoyed, and a little disgusted. Justin broke eye contact and quickly exhaled through his nose.

"Because I knew you either wouldn't take me seriously, or react like this!"

Bryce inhaled and exhaled sharply, "You still should have told me. I thought we were brothers! I'v known you since kindergarten, Justin!" He stressed, head dipping down to connect their gazes again. "I tell you everything. Hell, I tell you about what I plan on making for dinner every night because I can! I told you about my family problems too, because I thought we were close enough to talk about shit like that. And now you're dumping Jess for an emo loser? Come  _on,_ Justin. You're better than this," Bryce finished, a tear rolling down his face. He swiped it away quickly and sighed softly.

Justin snapped out of wallowing in his own misery and his face hardened. "Alex isn't an emo loser, Bryce. That's you being naive. He's so much more than that-"

Bryce scoffed as he said that and rage aggressively inflated in Justin's chest.

"Fuck you, Bryce. Get the fuck outta here before I beat you senseless. And you know I'll beat you. You're all talk but no bite." Justin spat, slinging his bag over his shoulder and jumping out of the car. 

Bryce rolled the window down and screamed, "You're making a mistake, Foley! I'll make sure everyone knows you're a fucking fag with no friends! You're picking a guy who fucking  _blackmailed_ you over your own friends and Jessica! Fucking stupid of you, asshole!" 

Justin flipped him off as Bryce sped down his street to leave and as soon as he was out of view, Justin dropped to the ground and felt the hot tears he suppressed for so long cascade down his face. 

Did he just screw up the rest of his life and lose his best friend and teammates, along with his perfect girlfriend, for a guy who hired someone to take pictures of them on their date? For a guy who released those pictures for the purpose of making Justin and Jessica break up quickly because he couldn't wait anymore?

Justin let out a conflicted sigh and dropped his face into his hands.

He really hoped he made the right decision.

***

When Alex finally woke up, he found himself laying on a cot in the nurse's office with an ice pack pressed to his head.

Immediately the pressure on the ice pack went lax when the person holding it there let out a girly sigh of relief. 

Hannah.

"Alex oh my God thank Jesus you're okay," Hannah exclaimed, surging forward to envelope Alex in a tight hug. 

Alex's head ached at the sudden movement and Hannah quickly apologized. 

"What the.. what happ'?" Alex asked weakly, noticing the the throbbing pain in his head, ache in his wrist, and pain in his knees.

Hannah looked at him sadly. "You blacked out after what happened in the hallway. Everyone was focused on the fight and didn't realize you collapsed. Clay and I had gotten to school late because his car broke down after he picked me up but luckily we fixed the problem before the situation got too sticky."

Alex didn't have it in him to make a joke about Hannah and Clay going to school together, but Hannah read his mind.

"I already know you're internally making fun of me and Clay so shut up," Hannah added, seeing the small smirk Alex wore.

The blonde laughed, but then winced after the effort worsened his throbbing headache. Hannah looked at him with sympathy.

"Clay and I can drop you off at home if that would help?" She asked, smoothing out the hairs that stuck out of place on Alex's head. He gave her a tiny smile.

"That'd be great."

***

After the awkward car ride with Hannah and Clay making heart eyes at each other the whole way to Alex's house, the blonde was thankful they gave him a lift, but he was relieved once they left.

As funny as it was to see Hannah get all flustered and awkward while talking to Clay, of all people, it got a little sickening and pathetic as they kept flirting and laughing too loudly to be normal. Why neither of them asked the other out yet was beyond Alex.

He shut his door and flopped onto his bed, grateful to have his privacy after a long ass day.

He tried to start thinking about what photographer Jessica said Alex supposedly "hired" to take pictures of him and Justin on their date, because he obviously did no such thing, but instead let his tired eyes droop shut as he got comfortable enough to take a long, much needed nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex makes a realization and Justin is in danger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for the chapter: Language and mild rape

Alex woke up the next morning forgetting all the shit that went down yesterday.

For a brief few seconds, he let himself believe that it was all a dream, and that Justin would be waiting to take Alex out on another low profile date, secluded from Liberty High's prying eyes when he got to school.

He let himself believe that he and Jessica weren't on horrible terms, and that they were somewhat civil towards each other.

He also let himself believe Zach didn't like him like  _that,_ since it's been causing problems with him and Justin.

Wait a second. 

Alex sat up in his bed straighter and batted the fake thoughts out of his brain. 

He snapped back to reality, feeling the gravity disappear below him.

Ha, Eminem was his guilty pleasure.

Anyways.

Zach couldn't possibly be the one framing him... right? As some sort of sick way of getting in his pants?

Nah, there was no way he would do that. 

Zach actually  _liked_ Alex; he wouldn't cause this pain onto him.

He thought about Jessica framing him, but then quickly ruled her out due to her reaction towards him at school yesterday.

Seeing her that upset and positively irate by the photographer's actions couldn't be faked. That was genuine.

That left Bryce and his friends.

Alex figured Bryce could have definitely framed him, as a way of maybe trying to push Alex out of the group and away from Justin? Maybe the jocks thought he wasn't "cool" anymore and wanted him gone? He didn't know for sure, but that sounded plausible.

Alex didn't think he could face the school day after all that drama ensued yesterday and convinced his mother he was sick with a migraine.

He didn't have trouble falling back asleep after she left.

***

Justin noticed that morning that the familiar bleached blonde head wasn't at his normal location at his locker across the hall from where Justin usually stood.

He tried not to be concerned and let it bother him, but goddammit he couldn't help it, even though Alex probably was at fault for betraying him.

He still had strong feelings for the other boy, and sue him for wanting to make sure he was alright.

Maybe Justin was just looking for someone to talk to, since Jess and the rest of his friends were avoiding him and pretending he wasn't there. 

He should regret hooking up with Alex in the first place, since that's where all of this shit started, but he couldn't regret it.

Not when it opened his eyes to being with Alex, and discovering his true sexuality. 

Fuck, he missed him. He wished he could transport back in time to their perfect restaurant date and relive his feeling of being  _alive_ and maybe even a little in love.

Woah, fuck.

Justin inwardly panicked and nearly crashed into another student after he realized the seriousness of what he just admitted to himself.

Was he falling in  _love_ with Alex?! He could't be. Not when he was still with Jessica... but honestly fuck that!

Justin suddenly realized in the middle of the crowded, humid hallway that he needed to fix things with Alex by finally breaking up with Jessica.

That was the only way he could possibly salvage his relationship with Alex, and he also needed to talk to him personally and ask if he was really the one who hired someone to take the pictures, because he didn't know for sure that the blonde was responsible for that.

He didn't know when he would break up with her though, since she wasn't talking to him now.

Justin figured he needed to talk to her in private to break the news to her, no pun intended, and he had to do it fast.

***

Alex was startled awake by a loud knock on his door. His eyebrows scrunched in confusion since it was only 12 and school was still in session.

Maybe Justin was coming over to apologize for blaming him for an act he didn't do?

He quickly got out of bed, motivated by the idea that Justin still cared about him and he raced down the stairs, excitedly swinging the door open to reveal a nervous looking Zach Dempsey.

Alex's heart sank a little.

What the hell was he doing at Alex's house? And more importantly, how did he know where he lived? 

"Hi, Zach. What are you doing here?" He asked sleepily, lifting his arm to rub at his eye tiredly.

He saw Zach's eyes linger on the area of exposed skin that appeared after his shirt lifted and felt uneasiness pool in his stomach.

"Just wanted to make sure you're holding up okay. May I come in?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Alex pursued his lips. He didn't have it in him to make Zach leave, but he also wasn't thrilled by the idea of having him over when his parents weren't home (his mother went to visit her mother after making sure Alex was okay and his dad was working a shift).

"Uh, sure I guess," he said, moving to let Zach come inside.

Zach smiled in thanks and stepped into his house.

Alex didn't bother guiding the other boy into his living room and instead just moved in that direction and collapsed on his couch.

He pulled a blanket over his legs and let it collect at his waist, immediately enveloped by its cottony warmth.

Zach walked in a few seconds later and sat on Alex's feet, which the blonde retracted immediately after the contact. Zach frowned slightly.

"How are you, Alex? I know being betrayed by Justin stings. He betrayed me too," Zach started, moving his legs slowly to rest across the blonde's. Alex again switched his position. 

"'M fine. How did he betray you? I thought you were friends," Alex replied in confusion, actually interested by why Zach felt betrayed by Justin.

Zach scratched his neck awkwardly. "Well he pretty much came out as gay, or even bisexual at least, without ever telling his friends he swung both ways."

Alex's eyebrows knit together. "But why does that matter? Coming out isn't an easy thing to talk about, especially when you're friends with a bunch of jocks," he defended, momentarily confused as to why he was backing up the other boy when Justin didn't trust him anymore. But he knew why.

Zach looked flustered for a minute, seeming unable to form a response. "He still didn't trust us to come out when we've been close for ages," he finally replied, shifting closer to Alex.

Alex stared at the smaller distance between them and moved further away, however, he realized he was right up against the armrest now and couldn't move anymore.

Zach took the opportunity to shift even closer, leaving only about a foot and a half of space between them. Alex started to get nervous, and not in the good way.

"Zach what are you trying to do? Why are you really here?" He asked, growing suspicious of the raven haired boy's true intentions. 

Zach then moved impossibly closer and slid a hand around Alex's hip. "Showing you the kind of man you really deserve," he murmured, before suddenly surging forward and connecting their lips in a desperate kiss.

Alex tried to jerk away from him, but Zach's grip on his waist, and now around his neck, secured him in place with no escape. 

Zach's tongue tried to barge into Alex's mouth, but he kept his lips locked in a tight line, refusing to budge.

Zach pulled away for a second to growl, "Stop fighting and give in!" Before he reconnected their lips in a bruising kiss.

Alex hated every second of it, vehemently trying to break away by kicking his legs and flinging his arms, but it was no use. Eventually he gave up and kissed the other boy back, only so he would stop draining his energy on trying to break free.

He felt Zach smile against his lips in victory and he tilted his head to get better access into Alex's mouth. Their tongues massaged each other and Zach moaned at the contact while Alex nearly puked.

Alex seized the opportunity to escape when Zach broke the kiss to breath and stroke himself, by bolting off the couch and sprinting upstairs. 

"Hey!" He heard Zach yell behind him, feeling the adrenaline kick into full force when he heard Zach's weight coming up the stairs right behind him. 

Alex finally got upstairs and flung himself into his room, spinning around to lock the door behind him just in time to lock Zach out.

He smiled in success, running a hand through his sweaty, messed up hair.

"You fucking prick!" Zach shouted, muffled by the door, "You're going to regret this! I'll tell the whole school  _you_ seduced  _me_ because you're a gay-ass faggot! You hear me? I got someone outside taking pics as we spea-" however he stopped himself once his last sentence got out.

Alex's eyes widened into saucers. 

So he was right at first.

Zach was the one who hired the photographer at their date. He's the reason Justin's pissed at him. Alex gritted his teeth painfully hard.

" _You_ hired the photographer! You're the reason my life is a living Hell right now! Oh my God Zach you have a fucking  _storm_ coming for your  _gay faggot ass_ once I tell Justin!" He screamed, banging on his door with his fists for emphasis.

He heard Zach chuckle darkly.

"We'll see if he believes you. Or if he'll even be alive to hear it," he stated, backing away from the door and retreating downstairs.

Now it was Alex's turn to panic.

Fuck, what the Hell would he do to Justin? 

Alex grabbed his phone, which had been disregarded on the ground after sprinting to his room and furiously dialed Justin's number.

"Come on, come on, come on," he chanted to himself, pacing his room as he waited for the other boy to pick up.

_"Hey, you reached Justin Foley's voicemail. I can't make it to the-"_

Alex cursed and his hands flew up to rest at the nape of his neck in exasperation. 

"Hey Justin, it's Alex. Please watch out for Zach, I don't know what he's doing right now or planning on doing but Justin he's the one who hired the photographer, you have to believe me. He's coming for you so please, please watch out. Call me back," he ranted frantically, running back out of his room. He flew down the stairs, grabbed his keys, and hopped in his car to head to Justin's rescue.

***

"Thanks for meeting me here," Justin began, taking Jessica's hands into his own. 

"What did you want to talk about?" She asked instead, getting right to the point since she was still clearly pissed. He noticed she kept her hand in his though, which made him a little happier. He sighed.

"How are things with your dad? Is he home?" Justin asked, trying to make sure she was okay with her family issues before he dropped the bomb on her.

She looked at him, completely unimpressed. "Same old, same old. Now, speed it up I'm not getting any younger here, Justin," she answered irritably. His heart sunk a little when she called him 'Justin' instead of 'Justy.' He stared at their clasped hands and sighed again. This was one of the hardest things he's ever done.

"Jess, I think we need to break up." 

Her little gasp made him look back up at her, and he wished he hadn't.

Her watched her eyes fill with tears and saw the miserable emotion consume her previously emotionless face.

He was truly the worst person in the world.

"Jess I'm-" he tried, desperately, but she interrupted him.

"It's because of Alex, isn't it? I don't know why I thought that wasn't real and that maybe you still loved me," she broke off with a sob, retracting her hand from his and buried her head into her arms. Justin watched helplessly as her body was overtaken by harsh sobs and quick breaths.

"Jess-"

"Just go, Justin," she choked out, though muffled by her arms.

"Jess plea-"

"Go Justin!" She yelled, lifting her head to look him in the eyes. He nearly broke into his own tears when he saw her devastated face. 

Her eyes were bright red and her cheeks were soaked in tears. Her nose was a little messy and he could see the damp spots from her tears covering her magenta sleeves.

"Okay. I"ll go," he whispered, saddened to his core. He pushed his chair back and tucked it back in after he got up to leave Monet's. He was almost out of earshot before he heard Jessica utter out his name one more time. He turned to face her. 

"Was any of it real?" She asked timidly, her voice sounding so, so small. Justin's heart re-shattered.

"Of course it was, Jess," he replied, watching as fresh tears streaked down her cheeks at the world 'was,' "I've just changed. People and experiences I've encountered this year have changed my perceptions on life and what's out there for me, and what I love. I'll always love you, Jess, but this is best for both of us," he finished, moving back over to the table and placing a supportive hand on her shoulder.

She turned towards him, face crumbling at their close proximity, and flung her arms around his neck as her head tucked into his shoulder while she cried.

Hot tears cascaded down his own face as he wrapped his strong arms around her warm body and secured her to him. Their sobs intermingled and they stayed there embracing for what seemed like hours as they both came to terms with what just happened between them.

Justin vaguely registered the sound of his phone vibrating in his back pocket, but he ignored it, obviously preoccupied with more pressing issues.

Whoever was calling could wait as he held Jessica tightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it! Comment what you might want to see in future chapters, because I kinda have writer's block lol. Thanks again for reading love you guys <3 Also, please check out my other fanfiction "In a New York State of Mind" and tell me what you think! :P  
> PS the next chapter may be a little late due to exams coming up so please stick with me! Lol


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin and Zach get into an argument that gets physical and Alex desperately tries to find him before it's too late

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God guys I'm sorry this is so late. After school got out and I finished my exams, I needed time to relax and collect myself. But without further ado, here you guys go :)  
> Warnings: Violence and swearing; descriptions of intense anxiety that hopefully doesn't trigger anyone  
> P.S. If there's any mistakes I didn't catch I'm sorry, I just wanted to post this

Jessica and Justin headed out of the cafe together; the first time as strictly friends.

As horrible as Justin felt about breaking her heart, he knew it was the right thing to do for his and Alex's sakes. Hell, even Jess's sake. Lying to her by staying in the one-sided relationship wasn't fair to her, or himself. 

He felt lighter in a way too. He was finally able to feel good about being with Alex and they didn't have to tip toe around everyone anymore. That is, if Alex was willing to be open about their relationship once Justin asked him out.

As they were both about to part ways and go to their separate cars, Jessica hesitated and lightly grabbed Justin's wrist to stop him.

"Hey, Justin. Look I just wanted to say thank you. I know this was a difficult decision for you and I didn't take the time to talk to you about seeing you with Alex before I lashed out on you both. I should have listened to you and been more understanding. And now I know why you ended things with me, and I understand and accept why you did. I didn't want a one-sided relationship and it wouldn't have been fair for either of us if this continued. So, again thank you for being honest and opening up. I really do wish you and Alex the best," she stated with a genuine smile.

Justin's cheeks reddened at her last sentence but he gave her a smile in thanks. "No problem, Jess. I can't thank you enough for being so understanding about Alex and me and about why I ended things. You're an amazing woman and frankly, I don't deserve your love and affection. Any guy would gladly take my place, so you won't be single for long unless you want to be," he replied with a smirk, leaning in to give Jessica another hug.

Her arms embraced him tightly, and he felt the hot spots on his shoulder from where her fresh tears stained his clothes. 

"Sorry," she sniffed, smiling in embarrassment as she fished a tissue out of her purse. "This is just going to take some getting used to." 

Justin grimaced in understanding and hooked an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay, Jess. Remember this isn't forever. We'll stay friends if you want that, because I know I do."

He watched her wipe her eyes and blow her nose one more time before she nodded and gave him a small smile. "Yes, I want that."

They stood there for a minute in the parking lot just smiling at each other and recounting everything that just happened between them.

"Well," Justin started, moving to fish his keys out of his pocket to unlock his car. "Thank you again for everything. We need to do this again soon," he finished, opening his arms to give Jessica one last hug. 

She smiled and agreed, wrapping her arms around her ex's neck one final time. "Take care of yourself, Just, okay?" She asked before leaving to go to her car.

Justin hesitated for a second in the lot after Jessica left, feeling much better knowing that she was okay and willing to be friends.

He smiled to himself and shoved his hands into his pockets as he approached his car. 

He honestly didn't know what he did to deserve her forgiveness. He was so unbelievably lucky to have her in his life, whether it be through relationship or friendship.

He jammed his keys into the ignition and was satisfied at the hum his car made as a result.

After backing out of the lot and turning onto the street, he noticed Zach was behind him. 

The raven haired boy smiled and waved and held up his phone, pointing at it in the mirror.

Justin's eyebrows knit and he squinted at Zach through the rear-view mirror.

After Zach wiggled his phone and pointed at it several more times, it finally occurred to Justin that he had to check his phone.

The first notification he had was a text from Zach telling him to go to the bowling alley parking lot. Apparently Zach wanted to speak with him in private and he thought that was the best place to do so.

Justin noticed several other notifications from Alex but he ignored them for the time being. He was more focused on making things right with his best friend he'd known since middle school.

Talking to Alex could wait a few more hours, since this issue seemed pressing.

Justin stared back through the rear-view mirror again after reading the message and sent Zach a thumbs up to signal that he received the message.

He saw Zach smile, then Justin redirected his attention to driving to the parking lot.

Justin would be lying if he said he wasn't pleasantly intrigued as to what Zach wanted to talk to him about.

Ever since the altercation in the hallway that morning the pictures were released, Zach had been ignoring him. In fact, he'd been ignoring him before that; during the truth or dare game and his weirdness after his dare with Alex, when he sent the weird glances towards the blonde during lunch he didn't think Justin saw but did, during class when Justin tried to talk to Zach but was ignored instead, etc.

All this made him definitely curious and nervous at the same time.

However, it would be nice to talk to him again and hopefully reach some kind of mutual understanding.

Finally, Justin pulled into the bowling alley parking lot, Zach in tow, and the two parked fairly close together, since the lot wasn't too busy.

Justin hopped out of his car and locked it, the resulting beep shattering the silence around them. Zach followed suite and also locked his car with a complimentary beep and the two faced each other in the middle of the lot.

This was going to be interesting.

***

"Hannah I have no fucking idea where he went and I'm freaking out," Alex shouted, frantically scanning the blurry landscape around him as the car sped down the main street.

He'd been trying his best to follow Zach's car, but he eventually lost it after a streetlight prevented him from doing so. He'd sworn loudly and slammed his fists on the steering wheel in frustration and rage.

Now, he had to quickly find out where the Hell Zach lead Justin to before he could hurt him or worse.

Alex swore again and felt himself getting hysterical with desperation.

"Okay, Alex, try to relax. We're going to figure this out, just listen to my voice. Take a few deep breaths-"

"Han I don't have the fucking  _time-"_

"Take the breaths or I'm hanging up, Alex. We won't accomplish anything if you're this distracted from the task at hand. So I recommend you inhale some oxygen pronto," she demanded calmly, helping Alex's nerves microscopically calm down.

Though he didn't want to, he agreed and quickly took in a few deep breaths and exhaled quickly, but slowed his breathing when he heard Hannah's dissatisfied grunt on the other end of the line.

He deepened his breaths and willed himself to calm down, just for a moment. 

"Okay, Han. What do I do," Alex mustered, already feeling himself getting anxious after three seconds of slight relaxation.

"You think. Where would Zach go that would be low-key and not many people would find him?"

Alex tried thinking, but his thoughts were whirling around his head going at 100mph and he wasn't connecting his thoughts with ideas. All he saw was Justin's dull, cold, motionless body tossed on the ground with blood oozing out of his chest. He saw a prideful, satisfied Zach sauntering towards him with a bloody knife in his left hand. "Too late," he sneered.

Alex's breathing picked up again and he felt his eyes prickling at the thought.

"Hannah I don't fucking  _know!_ He's gone, and I'm not gonna make it and if he's dead or injured it's all my fault," he choked out, feeling frantic, anxious sobs racking his body. The anxiety was so bad he couldn't breathe and his head was pounding.

"Alex Alex Alex stop. Please, please focus, you have to focus or else it  _will_ be too late, no matter what. You being this stressed and anxious isn't helping to find Justin. You need to fucking calm yourself down, or at least pretend you're calm. Can you do that for me?" She asked, and Alex could definitely detect her own distress in her words. But he knew she was right, like she always was.

He took a few more deep breaths and furiously blinked back the tears threatening to escape and cloud his vision. 

"Okay, Hannah. Um, let me think," he replied, trying to think of a place Zach might try to escape to.

Bryce's house was out; that would be way too obvious. So it had to be somewhere different; somewhere Zach wouldn't think Alex would think to look.

"What attractions are there here? This town is pretty dead except for sports, food, school, the gym, uh..." Alex tried, desperately thinking of other places he'd been to or thought about going to if he was bored.

"I don't think he'd be at any of those places, Alex. Maybe somewhere teenagers wouldn't usually go to? He clearly doesn't want anyone finding him from what you've told me of your conversation with him," Hannah said, trying to think like Alex was as well.

"Do you think Bryce or Marcus or someone would know where he went?" Alex proposed, satisfied when Hannah hummed in surprise.

"That's not a bad idea. Do you have their numbers? And I wouldn't ask Bryce; he's.. well, he's Bryce," she advised, and Alex agreed.

"I'll call Marcus. I'll call you back, okay?" He asked before hanging up swiftly.

This had to work; Justin's life depended on it.

***

"You probably don't know why I wanted to meet you here," Zach started, leaning on a random person's car and crossing his arms against his broad chest.

Justin shrugged. "Not really, but I'm curious." 

Zach pursed his lips and nodded. "Makes sense, doesn't it? But you know what  _doesn't_ make sense? Why you never told me, or any of your so-called  _brothers_ that you were gay," he began, his facial expression turning from light and friendly to dark and disgusted.

"First off, I'm not gay. And second, I never told you because I didn't even know myself. I only figured out what I really am recently, which is bisexual. I'm sure you know about that by now," Justin responded, voice hardening at the way Zach practically spat out the word 'gay.' 

Zach's eyebrows raised in disbelief. "Yet you never came to us at all, even when you  _recently_ found out about your little crush, hm? Care to spill who that crush may be on?" Zach asked in a mock-confused manner. Justin knew he clearly knew who it was and was playing dumb. 

Well. He already was a dumb fuck so he wasn't playing.

"I think you know already, Zach. Skip to the point, wouldcha? I'm not getting any younger here," Justin replied in irritation. This was starting to get drawn out and he wasn't having it.

Zach smiled. "Okay, but what would be the fun in  _that?_ I think you need to get some background information on me first. So, sit back and relax," Zach started, jumping backwards to perch on top of the hood of the stranger's car.

Justin yawned obnoxiously, enjoying the flash of irritation on Zach's face that was quickly replaced with his coy expression.

"Well? Hurry up then," he urged, leaning back against the car he was pressed up on and crossing his arms.

Zach rolled his eyes and then finally began to vent.

"It all started this year. Alex just moved here, and I was captivated by him. His care-free attitude, his mysterious dark side, his clothes, his piercing, his everything. He enchanted me-"

"Enchanted? What are you, a fourteen year old girl with an unrequited crush?"

"Anyways! He made me feel all kinds of things. Still does. But that night playing truth or dare confirmed every suspicion and doubt I had; I was in love with him. After that night, I watched him sleep on some nights after following him home after school, I followed him around school and watched him interact with  _you_ of all people. I saw the way you two acted all casual and indifferent towards each other in the hallway, but I knew what was going on. I knew I had my opinions and ideas about you two being more than friends, but I needed concrete proof. So I hired Tyler to take photos of you guys on your date, which I overheard you two talking about. It was easy. He did it for a mere seventy bucks. I could've told him to kidnap Alex and he would've for two hundred bucks. But anyways, as time went on and you two got closer and closer, I had to step in. So, I released the pictures to the whole school. The way you got so mad at Alex and how furious Jessica was with you was just enough drama to give me my chance with Alex. So you know what I did? I went to his house the next day and we had sex. Yeah, how does that make you feel? As a matter of fact, that was this morning. Yeah, he wasn't in school and I skipped and he was so devastated and his mind was so fucked up because you let him down so badly that he agreed to have sex with me. He loved it too. I don't know why he wanted to spend his time with you when he could've done it with me," he paused for a minute with a downright sinister grin.

Justin was at an utter loss for words. 

He had no idea Zach was such a fucking  _creep._ His behavior was obsessively stalkerish and even scary. He couldn't ever imagine Alex minding his own business at school, or even  _sleeping for fuck's sake_ with Zach watching him with his beady dark eyes.

The next thing was that Zach just confessed to being in charge of photographing them on their date and being the catalyst for all the drama that ensued. Justin was going to fucking end him for that.

And then finally Zach saying the two had sex. Justin knew it wasn't true because it just wasn't and he didn't believe 99% of the words the raven haired boy told him. 

But he didn't disbelieve that Zach showed up to Alex's house and some sort of physical activity happened, consent or not.

Justin was beyond pissed.

"How fucking  _dare_ you do this shit. You're a fucking  _stalker_ and a  _perv_ who should be locked up in jail right now. What gives you the  _right_ to photograph us on our date too? That's intruding on our privacy and fuck you for intervening and causing so much drama for Alex and I, and you dragged innocent people into your shit too like Jessica Davis. To think I thought we could resolve our conflicts and you say all this shit to make me fully think otherwise. And did you hear yourself correctly? How are you so fucking  _calm_ and  _indifferent_ after admitting you raped someone and stalked them? You could've made him want to commit suicide over this shit! And it'll all be on your hands!" Justin yelled, daringly moving forward and shoving Zach against the car, after he dropped down from the hood during Justin's vent.

Zach's eyes blazed in anger at the unwelcome contact, and he bared his teeth when Justin forcefully shoved him back again after saying, "I'm going to protect him from you, and any other threat he may face, with everything I have. Fuck you for being a fucking dick and a sociopath and an overall cunt. You know what you are too? You're a fucking pussy for not doing any of the dirty work yourself. Tyler took the photos for you and you took off like a bitch after truth or dare when you couldn't handle the attention on you. You're pathetic."

Zach, fueled by anger at Justin's words, fought back and shoved Justin back as well, using all the force he could muster. Justin slammed into another car in the lot and slid to the concrete below them. Justin coughed and swiftly regained his footing and barreled into Zach again, knocking him to the ground. Zach hit the cement with an audible gasp as the air was knocked out of him. 

Shit had just hit the fan and there was no going back now.

**Meanwhile...**

"Hello?" 

"Hey, Marcus this is Alex. Has Zach talked to you this afternoon about going anywhere? Like right now?" He asked in a rush, desperate to get answers.

"Uh, no not really, why?" He asked, confusion evident in his tone. Alex huffed. He didn't have time for this.

"Look, this is urgent. Justin's in danger and I need to know where Zach is. Give me  _something_ please," Alex commanded exasperatedly.

He heard Marcus sigh on the other end of the line and he grew uneasy.

"No he hasn't said anything. What's up with Justin? And wait why does finding Zach have to do with Justin?" He asked, sounding way too calm for Alex's liking, since his relaxation was just making him more anxious.

"Not important right now. Does Zach have any unconventional places he likes to go to? Like Bingo or church on Tuesdays or I don't know come on Marcus please!" He cried, feeling the anxiety pulling his stomach in a billion different directions and the nausea clawing its way up his throat.

"Look man, I don't really know. Bryce would be a better-"

"Marcus. Where does Zach like to go?" Alex asked as a last resort, getting straight to the point.

He hesitated on the other end. "The gym? The grocery store, pharmacy, he doesn't go to church, um, the arcade,"

Alex was just about to hang up and nearly give up when suddenly he noticed Marcus's voice increase pitch.

"The bowling alley? He goes there sometimes to hang out by himself and think. I've always thought it was kinda weird since it's all old people with no-"

"Oh my god, thank you! I gotta go now!" Alex shouted as he cut Marcus off and hung up the phone, immediately calling Hannah back.

"Anything?" She asked after the first ring.

"I know where he is."

***

"You're never going to touch him or hurt him again, you fucking hear me?" Justin yelled, his vision going red with rage as he shoved Zach's shoulders into the concrete once more with a loud thud.

Zach gasped out in pain and after a moment of catching his breath back, he stuck his leg out and flipped Justin over so that Zach was now on top and Justin was on the bottom.

Justin's eyes screwed shut in agony as he registered the sound and cruel sensation of his shoulder popping out of place as a result of the weird way it hit the ground.

"This must be how it is in the bedroom, huh? You're the submissive bottom who can't take control, yeah? I can picture Alex; hot, sexy Alex, smothering you on top because you're _weak!"_ Zach shouted with another forceful shove of Justin's shoulders against the concrete. Justin roared in pain after his dislocated shoulder whammed against the concrete, making him want to curl in on himself.

"Alex's mine! He's _mine_ you fucking asshole and I'm not sharing!" Zach screamed again, forcefully slamming Justin's head against the concrete, the searing pain making him see stars and black out for a minute.

He felt the warm blood from his skull pool under him, and suddenly Justin felt weak. His thoughts and vision went hazy and he had a hard time trying to keep his eyes open.

"You can knock me unconscious or even kill me. But I know for a fact that Alex will never love you," Justin mustered through gritted teeth, faintly registering the motion of Zach pulling out a shiny reflective object from his pocket.

"I'll see if you're correct in that assumption in due time, but you won't," Zach replied, pulling the metal object back behind him, bracing to impale Justin's tanned, bruised skin with it.

Justin closed his eyes and braced himself for the stab, but the pain never came. 

The last thing he remembered was the weight of Zach's heavy body disappearing on top of him and the muffled sound of shouting before Justin slipped into unconsciousness. 

***

Justin's eyes slowly blinked open with great effort when he finally regained consciousness.

All he saw were bright white lights when his eyes opened, and he had to shut them immediately at the harsh contrast from the dark he was used to.

After several tries, Justin finally felt comfortable enough to open his eyes as much as he could and take in his surroundings.  

He was in a hospital, no doubt. 

There was an IV stuck into his arm which he noticed, annoyed, after trying to get off the bed and move around. The pain in his head was what hurt him the most, since his shoulder was still out of place, but it had been for so long that he didn't notice the discomfort anymore. His head was still pounding, and he didn't know what was wrong with it. A concussion maybe? 

All of that happened in a span of a few seconds because soon after Justin woke up, a figure made a noise of happiness and asked if he was okay.

The voice was so familiar, but it took a moment to register who it belonged to. 

Alex. 

When Justin turned his head to the side the slightest bit, since it pained him immensely to move it, and saw the blond's surprised, yet excited face, he grew happy as well.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Glad you're awake," Alex whispered, still cautious not to be too loud in case the noise hurt the brunette's head.

Justin gave him a small smile and he cleared his throat gently. "Are you my prince who woke me up with a kiss?" He asked, both boys noticing how gruff and raspy he sounded from misuse. 

"Yeah, but looks like you missed it," Alex joked, still smiling with relief that Justin was awake, and seemingly retaining his memory.

"Wanna jog my memory?" Justin asked cheekily, smiling in victory when Alex rolled his eyes good-naturedly and leaned in.

Both of their eyes slipped shut as their lips interlocked for the first time in a long time, both reveling in the contact after being without it for too long.

Despite Justin's motions being kinda slow, the kiss was still pleasurable and left both boys feeling happy and content.

Alex broke the kiss gently with a quiet noise and regretfully pulled away after a few seconds.

Justin chased his lips when he backed off, and Alex smirked a little before giving in by leaning forward once again.

Their tongues overlapped gently, and Justin kissed with purpose and passion.

Alex sighed into the kiss, and in a moment of bliss and being caught up in the moment, his hands moved to grasp Justin's hair, which caused Justin to yelp and quickly back away.

"Oh my God Justin I'm so sorry!" Alex gasped, both hands coming up to cover his mouth in horror.

Justin groaned a little in pain, but then reached for Alex's hand to hold onto.

"It's okay; you were lost in the moment which is pretty attractive, actually," Justin laughed, making Alex chuckle in relief.

"I'm just happy I didn't seriously hurt you," he admitted.

Justin smiled softly at him. "You could never hurt me."

Alex's gaze fell to the floor at that.

"Justin, I don't know if you remember what happened four days ago, but-"

Justin sat upright.

"Four days ago? I've been unconscious for like half a week?!" Justin exclaimed in horror, not believing he'd been out that long.

Alex nodded his head solemnly. 

"It's been a while. You hit your head really hard, Just. Well, actually, Zach hit your head hard, that  _bastard-"_

"Wait, Al, before we get into that you were going to say something else about what happened. Continue please."

Alex inhaled and exhaled deeply, but then nodded.

"As I was saying, Justin I'm so unbelievably sorry about not coming to your aid sooner. I tried so hard to drive around the town and find you before you got so injured but I didn't make it before you hit your head and your shoulder so I'm really sorry. And Justin I was so fucking  _scared,"_ Alex confessed, voice breaking on his last word as his emotions caught up with him.

"I was so terrified of finding your body disregarded on the street somewhere; cold, bloody, and lifeless with a bullet wound or something in your chest that happened right before I could rescue you- or even if I never found you-" Alex choked on air then, tears falling down his cheeks as he frantically wiped them away.

Justin's heart shattered as he watched the blonde break down in front of him. 

"Alex, hey, Al it's okay. You did the absolute best you could in this situation and I'm alive because of you. Alex you're my hero, and-" Justin took a moment to compose himself before he uttered out his next sentence. He knew how heavy and important it was, but Alex needed to hear it.

"I'm definitely falling in love with you," he admitted, reaching for Alex's tear soaked hands and taking them into his.

Alex's sobs got louder and more violent as he took in what Justin just confessed, and a tsunami of affection overtook his body.

"Justin I'm falling for you too," Alex whispered, gently pulling the jock into his embrace as they hugged as best as they could without aggravating Justin's injuries.

They didn't know that the nurse had started to walk into the room to check up on Justin and the blonde boy who'd been by his bedside for four days now. However, she stopped as she observed the heartwarming scene before her. 

As the two boys embraced emotionally, she came to the conclusion that she could check up on them again in a little while.

They needed their time together.


End file.
